Claridge’s owner Maybourne has appointed Marc Socker and Gianluca Muzzi as joint-chief executives with immediate effect.
The hotel group, which also includes the Connaught and the Berkeley in London, has been run by Irish property tycoon Paddy McKillen through a management contract and that continues until the end of the year.
In a message to Maybourne staff, the directors of the company said: “This change reflects the beginning of a new strategic direction for Maybourne, where the company will focus on the creation of a global ultra-luxury brand while continuing to enhance the quality of each individual asset.”
Socker has worked in hotel fund management for the past 15 years, while Muzzi has worked in property investment banking, with stints at Deutsche Bank and DWS Group.
McKillen fought a multi-million-pound legal battle for control of the hotels with the Barclay brothers, which ended in 2015 when the Qatar-owned Constellation Hotels bought control of Maybourne and retained McKillen as an adviser.
