Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has appointed Joon Aun Ooi to the role of president and managing director for south-east Asia and Pacific Rim.
In his new role, Ooi will lead the post-spin development and growth of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts family of brands across the region and drive its strategic objectives including the company’s brand transformation and its focus on loyalty, distribution, sales and marketing.
Ooi reports to Bob Loewen, chief operating officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
He replaces Barry Robinson who has been named president and managing director, Wyndham Vacation Clubs, a division of Wyndham Destinations, the world’s largest vacation ownership and exchange company.
Ooi joined Wyndham in 2013 as vice president, openings and operations for Wyndham Hotel Group Greater China.
During this time, he successfully introduced four new brands to the market and played a pivotal role in growing the combined franchise and management portfolio to over 1,400 hotels.
Before joining the hospitality industry in 2002, Ooi spent more than seven years at the Boston Consulting Group where he was a principal.
He made his first foray into the hospitality industry as vice president strategy at InterContinental Hotels Group before moving to China in 2005 to take on the role of vice president, hotel openings (Greater China) where he played a key role in establishing and implementing the China growth strategy for the group.
“Asia Pacific is one of the world’s strongest travel markets, underpinned by rising middle class affluence and increased intra-regional travel driven by low cost carriers.
“We are accelerating the growth of our brands across the region to meet this demand which will make travel more accessible to all groups of travellers,” said Ooi.
“Wherever they choose to go, our guests can expect the largest, most diverse collection of hotel experiences, tied together by the most generous loyalty program in the business, Wyndham Rewards,” he added.
“Going forward, we will be focused on our strategic transformation laser-focused on our brands, technology and marketing which will unlock even greater value for our franchisees, owners and management partners.”
Ooi was born in Penang and is a permanent resident in Singapore where he will be based.
The Wyndham Singapore office has been established as the region’s new headquarters and is supported by offices in Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea.
“Joon Aun is a strategic leader with a strong regional expertise and operational experience across China and south-east Asia.
“He has played an instrumental role in our rapid growth in China where we are now the largest international hotel chain, and will now lead the way for Wyndham’s continued success in the south-east Asia and Pacific Rim region,” said Loewen. Business Administration from Stanford University.