Hospitality companies filled chief executive, marketing, technology, finance and loyalty posts during the third quarter of 2026. The moves below cover hotel groups, a management company, a real estate investment trust and a national tourism organization. Each entry carries the date the appointment or departure was announced.
Choice Hotels names Dominic Dragisich president and CEO
Choice Hotels International's board of directors appointed Dominic Dragisich president and CEO, effective Aug. 31. Dragisich had served as interim CEO since May 20, when former CEO Patrick Pacious exited. Pacious advised the company until Aug. 31. Choice Hotels did not provide a reason for his departure.
Dragisich has worked at Choice Hotels for nearly 10 years, including as chief growth and strategy officer and as chief financial officer. Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of the board, said the board selected Dragisich after a search that drew internal and external candidates.
Hilton chief marketing officer Mark Weinstein steps down
Mark Weinstein stepped down as Hilton's global chief marketing officer and head of luxury brands to take a leadership opportunity outside the travel industry, according to a company spokesperson. Hilton named no immediate successor.
Weinstein joined Hilton in 2010 as a senior marketing director and became chief marketing officer in 2020. As CMO, Weinstein led brand and performance marketing, media strategy and strategic partnerships for a portfolio of 28 brands, 9,200 hotels and 1.3 million rooms, per Hilton. The spokesperson said the Hilton Honors loyalty program grew from 25 million members to more than 250 million members globally.
Marriott appoints a chief information security officer
Marriott International appointed Daniel Dubowski senior vice president and chief information security officer. Dubowski joins from Hertz, where he held the same title. He succeeds Arno Van Der Walt and reports to Marriott chief information officer Naveen Manga.
Manga said in a LinkedIn post that Dubowski brings experience leading cybersecurity and risk programs across hospitality, travel, financial services and healthcare. Marriott is in the middle of a multiyear technology transformation that deploys artificial intelligence for guest experience and for associates and owners.
Fred Dixon returns to lead New York City Tourism + Conventions
New York City Tourism + Conventions appointed Fred Dixon president and CEO, effective Dec. 1. Dixon led the organization from 2014 to 2024 and most recently served as president and CEO of Brand USA, the country's destination marketing organization. Board chairman Charles Flateman said the board ran a process to identify its next leader. Flateman will oversee the organization until Dixon takes the role.
Dixon is tasked with promoting New York as a destination for leisure travel, meetings, conventions and events. He also leads work on partnerships across the city's tourism ecosystem.
New York City Tourism + Conventions projects 66.3 million visitors to the city in 2026, up 2 percent year over year and below 2019's 66.6 million. Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, said visitation in 2025 ran 1.3 million people below 2019 and that 2026 is tracking closer to 1 million short.
Chatham Lodging Trust adds Liam Brown to its board
Chatham Lodging Trust appointed former Marriott International executive Liam Brown to its board of trustees as an independent director, effective immediately. Chatham is based in Palm Beach, Florida, and invests in upscale extended stay and premium-branded select-service hotels. Its portfolio spans 39 hotels across 11 brands.
Brown retired from Marriott earlier this year, stepping down as group president for the U.S. and Canada. In that role he was responsible for lodging operations in North and South America, more than 6,000 hotels and approximately 160,000 associates. Marriott appointed Satya Anand as group president for the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean and Latin America region in January.
Airbnb names Pepijn Rijvers chief business officer
Airbnb appointed Pepijn Rijvers as chief business officer. Rijvers leads the homes, hotels, global markets and enterprise operations divisions. He succeeds Dave Stephenson, who built the function that established hotels as a business at Airbnb, co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a Sept. 1 companywide email.
Rijvers previously served as chief business officer at Tripadvisor and spent 13 years at Booking.com in senior leadership roles.
Marriott appoints a loyalty senior vice president
Marriott International appointed Chris Buckner senior vice president of loyalty, effective immediately. Buckner joins from The Points Guy, where he was executive vice president of product, loyalty and design. He previously held loyalty executive positions at PayPal and JetBlue.
Peggy Roe, executive vice president and chief customer officer, said Buckner's background in airlines, loyalty and customer experience will support the company's work to evolve Marriott Bonvoy as a lifelong travel partner. Marriott is building experiential loyalty offerings across sports, music, culinary and the outdoors.
Pyramid Global Hospitality hires a chief financial officer
Hotel management company Pyramid Global Hospitality appointed Chris Dunne chief financial officer. Dunne held the same role and the treasurer position at Atrium Hospitality, and previously held executive roles at IHG Hotels & Resorts. He brings more than 30 years of hospitality, financial and business experience to the position.
Pyramid also named Jenny Zhang corporate vice president of luxury operations and Bill McKinney corporate director of food and beverage, and promoted Thomas Pavlik and Chad Heilesen to vice presidents of operations for the Benchmark Resorts & Hotels portfolio.
Virgin Hotels Collection appoints a CEO
Virgin Hotels Collection appointed Joe Margison chief executive officer. Margison had served as interim CEO since October, when James Bermingham stepped down. He brings more than 25 years of experience across investment, finance, real estate and branded businesses and previously served as chief commercial officer for parent company Virgin Group.
Virgin Hotels Collection operates 16 properties across the Virgin Hotels and Virgin Limited Edition brands in the U.S., the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. Chair Peter Norris said the appointment reflects the leadership Margison showed in the interim role. Margison said the pipeline includes the announced Virgin Hotels Atlanta at Centennial Yards.
The quarter's moves span July 1 to Sept. 18.