As a result of strong growth in the Americas region, Hyatt announces its new leaders along with a subregional structure designed to foster its focus on development, operational excellence and performance optimization within its larger region. With this new organizational structure, Hyatt's Americas region is now comprised of two subregions: the United States and Canada, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), led by two new subregional presidents: Susan Santiago and Gabriel Felip, who report to Pete Sears, president of the Americas Group, effective January 2024.
In her new role as president of Hyatt United States and Canada, Santiago, who has a 32-year career at Hyatt, will lead the growth and performance optimization of the property portfolio in the region. In her last role, she served as senior vice president of the Lifestyle division and the Miraval brand, where she led the operational success of these areas.
As president of Latin America and the Caribbean, Felip, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in hospitality and tourism, will be responsible for the operational performance of all Hyatt hotels in the region, including the Inclusive Collection. Previously, he served as president of Hyatt's Inclusive Collection Global Operations Group.
"This new organization allows us to provide more personalized support to our hotel teams and owners, focusing on the specific needs of each sub-region. This will help us achieve strong results through intentional and sustainable growth throughout the region." Pete Sears commented. "With these changes, we continue our drive to make Hyatt the hospitality brand of choice. Our goal is to deliver meaningful guest experiences and drive positive results for our owners." He concluded.
Hyatt's new Americas sub-regional structure creates three new positions: Yvette Martinez-Edwards is promoted to senior vice president of field operations, luxury and Miraval (reporting to Susan Santiago). Shyla Gardner rejoins as vice president of commercial services for Latin America and the Caribbean (reporting to Asad Ahmed, senior vice president of commercial services for the Americas). And Juan Pablo Puerta assumes the role of senior vice president of finance for Latin America and the Caribbean (reporting to Liz Bauer, senior vice president of finance for the Americas).
With a dedicated focus on driving operational excellence within Hyatt's luxury brands, Martinez-Edwards will oversee the Miraval and luxury hotel portfolio for the Americas region. Most recently, Martinez-Edwards served as vice president of field operations, where he led a group of Timeless Collection properties in the Eastern region. Previously, he also led Hyatt's sales strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean for the Miraval brand.
Gardner leads a cross-functional commercial services team for Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on providing a specialized commercial strategy for the region's market and further developing stories about Hyatt's culture and key differentiators for the entire Latin American and Caribbean portfolio. , including Inclusive Collection. Prior to this role, Gardner served as vice president of sales and marketing for Playa Resorts and previously as regional director of sales and marketing in Mexico for Hyatt.
To further support Hyatt's long-term growth strategy, Puerta is responsible for leading the finance function and driving optimization of property performance throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Puerta also continues to lead the role for Hyatt's Inclusive Collection in the region. Prior to this role, Puerta served as CFO of Apple Leisure Group.