Zecha Out As Aman CEO And Chairman

Legendary luxury hotelier Adrian Zecha has stepped down from his role as Aman Resorts Chairman and CEO according to Hotels Magazine.
Controlling ownership of Aman shifted recently from India's DLF Group who divested their interest at a substantial loss to a group under Russian investor Vladislav Doronin.
Doronin has taken the role as Aman's CEO and the new Chairman is Johan Eliasch.
It's yet to be seen what other changes will take place at Aman, though industry speculation is high that a shift to a more commercial approach to their hotel portfolio will be necessary to reach their investor's financial objectives.
Zecha continues to be active behind the scenes in Singapore based management group GHM which has recently been on an expansion drive signing new contracts in a defined shift towards a more commoditized approach.
GHM has been driving their Chedi brand on a broader basis, not unlike the current Six Senses approach back of private equity firm Pegasus who are clearly looking to increase both management fee income and in turn financial returns.
For Aman, the question remains on what is largely premised as a real estate brand whether the absence of Zecha will affect the loyal Aman junkie customer base, or will be brand's journey to an economic model be manageable by new leadership.
Stay tuned.