Management Committee and Executive Team of Minor Hotels Europe & Americas

Ramón Aragonés

CEO

Ramón Aragonés (Madrid, 1954) studied Hospitality and Tourism Management in the University of Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and holds a Master’s Degree in International Hotel Management from the Louvain University (Belgium). He has developed the majority of his career within the hospitality industry, starting off as hotel front office staff in his youth and slowly scaling up until in the year 2000 he was appointed General Manager of the hotel chain Hesperia. After the integration of Hoteles Hesperia into NH Hotel Group, Aragonés was named Managing Director of NH’s Spanish Business Unit in 2010, and after two years of excellent results, he moved into the Group’s Headquarters as Chief Operations Officer. In January 2017, Ramón Aragonés was officially appointed Chief Executive Officer of NH Hotel Group. From this position, he leads all of the Company’s areas and is responsible for the delivery of its Strategic Business Plan, its expansion and the growth and consolidation of NH Hotel Group’s brands.  

Rufino Pérez

Chief Operations Officer & Global Transformation Leader

Rufino Pérez Fernández studied Economics and Business Administration at the Universidad de Vigo and has an Executive MBA in Tourism Enterprise Management from the Instituto de Empresa.

He has developed most of his professional career in the hotel industry, holding positions such as Head of Internal Audit, Organization and Systems Director and Chief Operations Officer.

After the integration of Hoteles Hesperia in NH Hotel Group – December 2009- he has served as Commercial Director for Spain, Portugal and Andorra and Managing Director in this business unit.

In February 2013, he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in NH Hotel Group, leading hotel chain with close to 60.000 rooms in 29 countries. He led the areas of Sales, Pricing and Revenue Management, Reservations (individual and groups) and Commercial Business Intelligence.

From June 2016 to mid-2017 Rufino served as Executive Managing Director of Resources, leading the Organization and IT, Human Resources, Business Intelligence and Procurement global disciplines, and reporting to the Delegated Commission of the Board of Directors.

Currently he holds the position of Chief Operations Officer and Global Transformation Leader.

Laia Lahoz

Chief Assets & Development Officer

Laia Lahoz who boasts a Degree in Law School from the Pompeu Fabra University and a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation from the University of Barcelona, has a vast professional experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Management and Legal Affairs.

She started off her career in the renowned law firm Garrigues and introduced herself into the hospitality industry in 2004 when she joined Hesperia Hotels as Head of the Legal Affairs Department.  

A few years later she moved on to become Managing Director of the Hesperia Investor Group and in 2013, after the integration of the Hesperia hotel chain into NH Hotel Group, she was appointed Senior VP of Portfolio Management, becoming responsible of the Company’s global asset management strategy.

In June 2017, and after extraordinary results in her previous role, Laia was appointed NH Hotel Group’s new Chief Assets and Development Officer, becoming a part of the Company’s Executive Committee and reporting directly to the CEO. From this new position, she continues to lead the Group’s asset strategy and takes on the responsibility of its global expansion and development as well.

Isidoro Martínez de la Escalera

Chief Marketing & Communication Officer

Isidoro Martínez de la Escalera (Barcelona, 1965) studied Engineering at the E.T.S.I.I. of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and has a PDD (Management Development Program) from  IESE Business School. He has held leading responsibilities in the areas of General Management and Marketing in multinational companies operating in the fast moving consumer goods sector such as, Procter & Gamble , 20th Century Fox H.E, Pepsi, Antena 3 or Grupo Osborne. Isidoro has also developed a career as digital entrepreneur in the role of founding partner of the PR agency QMS and in the digital marketing agency, MultiPlatform Content.

Martinez de la Escalera joined NH Hotel Group in 2014 as Chief Marketing Officer where he is currently responsible for leading the Company’s global marketing and online sales channels strategy.

Furthermore, Isidoro is a member of the board at Biosearch, a listed company on the stock exchange market of Madrid and teaches in several prestigious institutions such as Instituto Superior para el Desarrollo de Internet (ISDI) or the Universidad de Nebrija.

He published the novel “Humo en la lluvia” in 2010.

Fernando Vives

Chief Commercial Officer

Fernando joined Nh Hotel Group in 2014 as Senior Vice President Commercial Strategy & Pricing, in July 2016 we was appointed as Chief Commercial Official and member of the Management Committee.

Fernando leads the Commercial Strategy for all commercial disciplines (Sales, Distribution, Reservations, Pricing and Revenue Management, Business Intelligence, etc.) to ensure top line growth aligned with NH´s Strategic Plan

He is an expert on Revenue Management, Commercial practices and distribution with experience both in the urban and resort arena and operating hotels in all continents.  

Previously to NH Hotel Group Fernando occupied different positions at the Le Meridien, the Ritz in Madrid, Hesperia Hotels and Meliá Hotels International, where he spent 8 years. From Global Director of Revenue Management to Senior Commercial Director EMEA and Premium Brands, not only being responsible for top line results in the area but outbound business, the global sales force and leading the luxury sales strategy for the group.

Fernando has entrepreneurial experience, that he applies on his daily practices. He is an entrepreneur himself, co-funding the Revenue Management & Distribution firm Xotels, ltd in 2006.

As a passionate hotelier and mentor, he founded in 2009 the Masters Degree “Expert on Revenue Management “ at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, that has consolidated as the most prestigious and solid RM Official education in the  Spanish language. He is as well associate professor at IE Business School, teaching Distribution and Pricing on their MBA programs.

It is usual to see him as keynote speaker in conferences hosted by Eye for Travel or HSMAI.

Marta Pérez-Leirós

Chief People & Sustainable Business Officer

Marta Pérez-Leirós, graduated in Law and Business Administration from the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (ICADE) and Executive & Life coach from CTI Global Iberia, has held positions of responsibility in the Human Resources area of ​​companies such as Credit Suisse or Applus+.

Throughout the 14 years that Marta has been working for NH Hotel Group, she has built a solid Human Resources career in the fields of Talent, Leadership, Development, Training, Engagement, Employer Branding and Internal Communication. She has been more than actively involved  in the definition and deployment of the People Strategy and has experienced working closer to business by performing in the Business Unit Spain.

During her career, she has received multiple awards for the projects she has developed at NH, including 4 awards from the renowned Cegos con Equipos y Talento awards.

Carlos Ulecia

General Counsel

Carlos Ulecia Palacios boasts a degree in Law and a diploma in Business Administration from the University of Zaragoza and a Master’s Degree in Legal and Tax Advisory from the IE Business School of Madrid. He has developed his professional career in the legal areas of renowned international companies, specializing in Mergers & Acquisitions, Contracting, Stock Market and Corporate Governance.

Prior to his current position in NH Hotel Group, Carlos Ulecia was Senior Associate in Landwell, Law Firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and in the year 2000, he was appointed Legal Director of Indra Systems, leading the global consulting and technology company’s privatization and its stock market debut as well as contributing to its internationalization process. 

In 2007, he moved on to become deputy General Counsel and Vice-secretary of the Board of Directors of Prisa, a prominent Spanish listed media conglomerate, where he was in charge of the refinancing and restructuring of the Group’s debt and the coordination of its Board of Directors and Committees.

In 2013, Carlos Ulecia joined NH Hotel Group as its new General Counsel, role that he combined with Secretary of the Board of Directors and Legal Advisor of Sotogrande S.A. until its sale to the Cerberus and Orion funds in 2015. As General Counsel of NH Hotel Group and member of its Executive Committee, Carlos Ulecia is currently responsible for the Legal Affairs, Compliance and Internal Audit Departments of the Company as well as for the management of the Board of Director and its Commissions.

Carlos Ulecia dedicates time to teaching Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance as a visiting professor in the IE Business School of Madrid and periodically participates in seminars and conferences related to the field of law. 

He is a member of the Madrid Bar Association and of the Spanish Corporate Lawyers Association.

Ana Muñoz

Chief Financial Officer

Ana Muñoz has a strong, broad-based background with over 25 years of experience in the full management of key financial functions: AP/AR, Treasury, Tax and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) with a focus on audit, consolidation, management control and financial reporting. She has held senior positions across her areas of expertise in several multinational corporations as well as IBEX 35 listed companies. She has extensive experience in developing and leading multinational teams and managing large projects across the European region.

Alonso Escrivá de Romaní

Chief Strategy Officer

Mr Escrivá de Romaní Arsuaga is Graduated in Business Administration at Carlos III University in Madrid. After a period working in the consulting sector with Accenture, Alonso joined the Company in 2006. Throughout these years, he has developed his career in different financial and strategic positions within NH Hotel Group, in areas such as HR Analysis and Organization, Investment Analysis, M&A and Financial Planning, Investor Relations, Strategic Planning and Controlling. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of the Issuer, being responsible for the Group’s 5 year Plan definition and execution control.