UK: Langham Hospitality Group has announced the appointment of Bob van den Oord as chief operating officer, a newly created position at the company.
Van den Oord will report directly to chief executive Stefan Leser, and will support the company’s hotel operations and core business functions across four continents. At the corporate level, he will steer the food and beverage, spa, rooms and quality divisions.
He brings over two decades of experience to his new role, which will be based at the corporate office in Hong Kong. Van den Oord recently held the position of managing director at The Langham London, as well as regional vice president of operations for Europe, Middle East and the United States.
“I am honoured to lead as COO for Langham Hospitality Group as it has been an important part of my life for more than 20 years,” said van den Oord. “As we look toward long-term recovery, future growth and opportunity for our group and industry during these challenging times, I feel incredibly fortunate to work with outstanding colleagues who are dedicated and passionate in their service delivery and care for our guests and each other.”
Throughout his career, van den Oord has been involved in all aspects of managing hotels. At the Langham, London, he grew the hotel’s revenues significantly on an annual basis, oversaw the launch of The Wigmore, and opened the only cooking school within a five-star central London hotel, Sauce by The Langham.
Prior to this, van den Oord held the position of managing director at The Langham, Hong Kong, where he concurrently took on the corporate role as vice president, brands at Langham Hospitality Group. He first joined the group in 1999 as resident manager of Le Meridien Boston (now The Langham, Boston).
“Bob has been instrumental in guiding our flagship hotel in London to new heights in a highly competitive market and we have the utmost confidence in his expertise and abilities to lead our global operations team,” said Leser. “His outstanding reputation, luxury expertise and enthusiasm for our brands will position them for success well into the future.”
