Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced today that Anthony F. Dombrowik has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Red Lion, effective immediately. Mr. Dombrowik assumes the position from Anupam Narayan, who recently became President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr. Dombrowik will be in charge of managing Red Lion's financial and administrative functions after most recently serving as the company's Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller.
"Tony's outstanding work, knowledge of financial matters and his dedication to the company made him the logical choice for Chief Financial Officer," said Narayan. "I have great faith in Tony's ability to lead his team and guide the company on financial matters."
Mr. Dombrowik has been with Red Lion Hotels Corporation since May 2003. Prior to joining the company, he was employed as senior manager at the public accounting firm of BDO Seidman, LLP, where he served as an auditor, certified public accountant and consultant from 1992 to 2003. Mr. Dombrowik's public accounting practice focused on auditing and consulting for mid-market public companies, with particular attention to consolidations, capital and debt transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and the hospitality industry. While in public practice, Mr. Dombrowik represented BDO Seidman, LLP on the Red Lion Hotels Corporation audit engagement.
The company also announced today that John Taffin, who has been Red Lion's Executive Vice President, Hotel Operations since September 2003, has been named Executive Vice President, Acquisitions and Development. In his new role, Mr. Taffin will focus on acquisition and development opportunities for Red Lion in the western United States.
"Strategic growth is integral to our future and John's experience and abilities make him the perfect fit for this very important new position," said Narayan. "As a key member of our leadership team since 2003, John knows better than anyone what acquisition and development opportunities will help drive our shareholder value going forward."
In addition, the company announced that industry veteran George Schweitzer has agreed to join the company as Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations. Mr. Schweitzer joins Red Lion from Unifocus -- a leading global provider of business intelligence applications and performance technology for the hospitality industry -- where he was Partner and Executive Vice President of Business Development since August 2006. Mr. Schweitzer previously founded and was President and CEO of LaborSage, Inc. -- a software and management consulting company focused on labor scheduling solutions for the hospitality industry -- from 2001 to 2006, when it was acquired by Unifocus. Before entering the hospitality software industry, Mr. Schweitzer served as President & COO of VenQuest Hotel Group in Irvine, CA. Prior to VenQuest, Mr. Schweitzer held the position of Vice President Operations for Sunstone Hotels and Regional Vice President for Doubletree Hotels. Mr. Schweitzer has worked for over 30 years in the hospitality industry, including nearly 20 years at Red Lion, where he served in various positions, including Vice President - Operations, Regional Vice President, and General Manager of various Red Lion hotels.
Commented Narayan: "We are pleased to welcome George back to the Red Lion family. I expect that his strategic vision, his years of experience in hotel operations and his familiarity with the Red Lion brand will enable him to have an immediate positive impact on our company."
Mr. Dombrowik, Mr. Taffin and Mr. Schweitzer will each be reporting directly to the company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Anupam Narayan.
About Red Lion Hotels Corporation
Red Lion Hotels Corporation is a hospitality and leisure company primarily engaged in the ownership, operation and franchising of upscale and midscale hotels under its Red Lion(R) brand. As of December 31, 2007 the RLH hotel network was comprised of 53 hotels located in eight states and one Canadian province, with 9,388 rooms and 472,529 square feet of meeting space.
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