The Indian Hotels Company Limited (The Taj Group of Hotels) has announced that Raymond N. Bickson will step down as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective from 31 August 2014. Bickson, who has spent the last 11 years in a leadership position with India’s largest hotel company, will pursue his professional interests elsewhere.
Cyrus P. Mistry, Chairman, Indian Hotels Company Limited said, “We’re grateful to Bickson for his many years of leadership at the Taj Group. His three decades of hospitality expertise have helped to make the Taj Group and its brands some of the most respected names in the international hotel and resort industry. We’re fortunate to have more than 20,000 dedicated employees, a strong senior management group, and an experienced Board to help us move forward into the next phase of Taj’s growth.”
Under Bickson the Taj Group’s brand growth and expansion into major gateway cities worldwide have left the company well-positioned to take advantage of a steadily strengthening global economy and improving international travel trends. Since the Taj Group’s founding more than a century ago with the fabled Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, the company has grown to encompass 127 hotels on five continents.
Commenting on Taj, Bickson said, “Our team has positioned Taj’s four brands – Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Vivanta by Taj, Gateway Hotels and Ginger Hotels – as distinctive growth-oriented brands that offer the best of Indian hospitality and modern luxury to sophisticated travellers worldwide.”
Rakesh K. Sarna will take over from Raymond Bickson on 1 September 2014. In this role, Sarna would be responsible for steering the growth of the organisation as it continues to be positioned as a strong India based hotel chain with strategic presence in chosen markets outside India
