SHANGHAI, China, May 26, 2015 -- Huazhu Hotels (laso known as China Lodging Group), a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China, today announced that its board of directors has appointed Ms. Jenny Zhang, previously President of the Company, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective May 26, 2015.
Jenny Zhang has been with the Company for eight years and has held top management positions. She has been President of the Company since January 2015. In her role as President, Jenny oversaw the operations of the whole Company. She served as Chief Financial Officer from March 2008 to May 2015, and as Chief Strategy Officer from November 2013 to January 2015.
"On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jenny as CEO," commented Mr. Qi Ji, founder and executive Chairman of the Company. "Jenny is a proven business leader with global vision and a strong track record of delivering results. She has worked closely with me for the past eight years on many core strategic moves and formulation of the Company's operational systems. We thank Jenny for her tremendous contribution to China Lodging Group. We look forward to her continued contribution as the CEO. We expect the Company to reach its next level of success under her strong leadership."
Ms. Zhang has extensive experience in finance, business development and strategy. Prior to joining the Company in 2007 as Executive Vice President of Finance, she was the Finance Director of Eli Lilly (Asia) Inc., Thailand Branch and the Chief Financial Officer of ASIMCO Casting (Beijing) Company, Ltd. She also worked previously with McKinsey & Company, Inc. as a management consultant. Ms. Zhang obtained her Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and received both Master and Bachelor degree from the University of International Business and Economics.
