SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The board of City Developments Limited (CDL) has appointed Clarence Tan as the group chief executive officer of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels, effective this Thursday.

He will be the first to take the helm of the hotel arm of CDL, the company announced on Monday.

It said in a statement: "Mr Tan's timely appointment will offer stability to M&C and comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected the global hospitality industry."

Mr Tan said: "The evolving Covid-19 outbreak continues to greatly impact the hospitality industry globally. Amid the operating challenges and uncertainty, I see a significant opportunity to reshape M&C's strategies and reposition the business. M&C has a distinctive asset portfolio with latent value to be unlocked.

"With teamwork and the right strategies, I believe that we will be able to overcome this difficult period and set a firm foundation to further grow our hospitality business," he added.

Mr Tan joins CDL from InterContinental Hotels Group, where he was the managing director for South-east Asia and Korea. He was responsible for the growth, financial and operational performance of about 100 hotels there, and has more than two decades of global hospitality experience.

As the chief executive for the privatised M&C, he will be responsible for the performance of its global hotel portfolio, which encompasses 150 hotels and 43,500 rooms, many in key gateway cities.

Reporting directly to CDL and M&C's executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng, Mr Tan will "focus on achieving synergies, cost efficiencies and driving profitability", CDL said.

Mr Kwek said that the veteran hotelier's leadership would "be critical in navigating M&C through near-term global and macro-economic challenges, driving portfolio performance enhancements through significant cost-efficiency initiatives, and building brand equity."