Dive Brief:
- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts appointed Sudhakar Veluru EVP and chief information technology officer Monday. Veluru will join the Four Seasons executive leadership team and report to President and CEO Alejandro Reynal.
- Veluru will lead Four Seasons’ global IT infrastructure and transformation, driving modernization with a focus on guest and employee experience. The tech exec was formerly MGM Resorts International’s CTO and previously held several senior leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company.
- “Sudhakar's appointment underscores Four Seasons commitment to modernizing and strengthening its capabilities to further develop a single view of guests and residents while deepening foundational support functions across the company globally,” the company said in the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Hotels rely on technology tools to support online bookings, room management and staff operations. But as customer and employee expectations for technology have grown since the pandemic, leaders have worked to modernize legacy systems, improve efficiency and curate better experiences.
Hotel brands are embracing cloud architectures and solutions, and some are even venturing into generative AI adoption for customer service and employee engagement.
Veluru led digital transformation efforts at MGM that enabled access to e-commerce, customer loyalty programs and casino games across mobile and online platforms. During his tenure, MGM Resorts' Las Vegas area operations experienced a cyberattack that led to $100 million in associated expenses during Q3 2023.
His focus at Four Seasons will be building a critical tech foundation and capabilities.
The Canada-based company, which celebrated its 60th anniversary commemorating the opening of its first hotel in 2021, has around 130 properties around the world.
