Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has announced that Kathleen Taylor will be leaving her role as chief executive officer.

The privately held company, with the backing of its long-term shareholders Kingdom Holding Company, Cascade Investment and Triples Holdings, is focused on building on Four Seasons leadership position by accelerating execution of its existing strategy to drive global growth and expansion of its iconic brand.

Taylor assumed the role of CEO from Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons in 2010, a statement from a hotel official said. During her almost 25-year tenure at Four Seasons she was integral to the expansion of the business which quadrupled its size, increased its global footprint from three countries to operations in 37 countries, and resulted in strategic partnerships with more than 100 hotel owners and developers across the globe.

Sharp continues as chairman and a shareholder and is closely involved in developing and advancing relationships with partners, employees and customers around the world.

"I am deeply grateful to Taylor for her nearly 25 years of outstanding service and wish her well in the next phase of her career,” said Sharp. "She leaves us with a strong foundation for the future and we remain firmly committed to leadership in luxury hospitality and accelerating our goals for long-term growth.”

Taylor has been recently recognised through numerous awards including the first woman ever to receive the Corporate Hotelier of the World, the Cornell University Hospitality Innovator, and inductee to Marketing Hall of Fame.

“Our long-term commitment to Four Seasons has not changed,” said Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Hotels International. “We are confident that we can quickly identify a successor to Taylor who shares the Four Seasons vision and values and that the company’s strong executive leadership team, which has the full support of the shareholders, will provide the leadership and continuity necessary to guide us through a seamless transition. We see more opportunity today than ever before.”

“We have great confidence in the company's outstanding executive leadership and worldwide operations teams," said Michael Larson, chief investment officer of Cascade Investment. "We look forward to working with them and our hotel ownership partners to build our business as the global leader in luxury hospitality. Together with Kingdom and Triples, we are committed to achieving the long term strategic vision that has been established for Four Seasons.”

Kingdom Holding Company, Cascade Investment, an entity owned by William H Gates III; and Triples Holdings Limited, a company owned by Isadore Sharp, took Four Seasons private in 2007.

Four Seasons has initiated a search for Taylor’s successor and has retained Ferguson Partners, a leading executive search firm, to assist in the process. In the interim, Four Seasons nine-member executive leadership team (ELT) will manage the company with oversight from the company’s board. – TradeArabia News Service