Dutch hotel and lifestyle brand CitizenM has announced the promotion of Ernest Lee to its first-ever Global Chief Growth Officer, as well as the appointment of Hendrik Jan Roel as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Lee, who previously served as Managing Director for the Americas, brings a wide range of experience in investments, real estate, finance, strategy and operations. He is also known for guiding the multi-regional expansion of CitizenM’s North American portfolio. Based in New York City, Lee will support its global operating business by implementing new growth initiatives, products and programmes, pursuing strategic partnerships, and developing long-term commercial strategy with CitizenM’s Chief Commercial Officer.

This set of responsibilities builds on Lee’s involvement as a co-leader of several business innovation teams within CitizenM, where he helped launch significant new products including the subscription programme.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we have seen remarkable success, continuing to open hotels, secure new deals, and recruit and elevate top talent throughout this period, all of which are testament to our unique position as a brand on an industry level and beyond,” explains Klaas van Lookeren Campagne, CEO of CitizenM. “With the continued support of our investors and key leaders and the addition of strong talent such as Ernest and Hendrik to our team, we can confidently pursue our ambitious growth and development plans.”

Lee comments: “With our development portfolio quite advanced now, particularly with the number of hotels opening in the US, this is a logical time to shift focus from our real estate arm to the operating business. The hotel industry is still very traditional, especially when it comes to its business model, product, distribution and marketing. CitizenM was created with a disregard for convention and constantly adopts practices from other industries, especially technology. The introduction of this new position is no different. I look forward to collaborating with all our teams to develop new ways to help accelerate and improve our operating business.”