This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45676456
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Millennium hotels boss Jennifer Fox leaves after three months | Millennium hotels boss Jennifer Fox leaves after three months |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The boss of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels has stood down three months after taking over. | The boss of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels has stood down three months after taking over. |
Group chief executive Jennifer Fox and M&C "have mutually agreed" she will leave with immediate effect, the company said. | Group chief executive Jennifer Fox and M&C "have mutually agreed" she will leave with immediate effect, the company said. |
It is thought there were differences of direction between the industry veteran and M&C's chairman and majority owner. | |
Ms Fox, who is being replaced on an interim basis by chief of staff Tan Kian Seng, will receive a £1m pay-off. | |
Ms Fox has spent 30 years in the hospitality industry, including as president of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and 10 years with InterContinental Hotels. | |
She started work at M&C on 19 June, replacing Aloysius Lee, who had resigned in January. | |
M&C did not give reasons for her departure in a short statement to the London Stock Exchange. | |
A separate statement on M&C's website said Ms Fox would receive her contractual entitlement of a £1m pay-off. | |
New strategy | |
At the time of her appointment, Ms Fox spoke of her ambitions for the company, whose brands include Millennium, Grand Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate. | At the time of her appointment, Ms Fox spoke of her ambitions for the company, whose brands include Millennium, Grand Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate. |
"I see this as a significant opportunity at a time of great change in our industry," she said. | "I see this as a significant opportunity at a time of great change in our industry," she said. |
But Ms Fox joined at a time when M&C's revenues were under pressure from rising costs, especially at its hotels in London. | |
She was working on a new strategic plan for the group, and had made two key appointments; new heads of global marketing and human resources. | She was working on a new strategic plan for the group, and had made two key appointments; new heads of global marketing and human resources. |
But it is thought that there were differences with billionaire chairman and majority owner Kwek Leng Beng. | |
Last year, he wanted to take M&C private, warning that terrorism scares, industry overcapacity and political uncertainty in Europe were affecting the business. | |
Last month, the hotel group reported that revenues in the first half of the year fell to £477m, compared to £485m the previous year. The chairman described the results as "mixed". |