Playa Hotels and Resorts, the owner and operator of all-inclusive resorts for brands like Hyatt and Hilton, has announced the appointment of Rachael Rothman as its senior vice president of investor relations and strategy.
Rothman started her role on August 27 and will report into Ryan Hymel, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. Investor relations responsibilities had previously sat with Hymel as part of his role as CFO and, before that, as treasurer.
Playa Hotels and Resorts announced it was preparing for an IPO in 2016. In March 2017 it withdrew plans for its IPO, having entered into an agreement with Pace Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company. The stock is now listed on Nasdaq. This is the first time the company will have a dedicated investor relations professional.
Rothman has almost two decades of experience as an equity analyst specializing in the lodging and leisure industries. She most recently served as a senior analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, which she joined in 2010. Prior to this, Rothman was a managing director at Merrill Lynch and Wedbush Securities. She started her equity research career with Morgan Stanley, and had several years of hospitality industry experience before then.
She has been recognized with several industry awards for her work as an analyst, including recognition as The Wall Street Journal’s ‘Best on the Street’ and The Financial Times’ ‘World’s Top Analysts’.
Hymel says her experience and connections will be an asset to Playa Hotels and Resorts moving forward. ‘Her vast and in-depth knowledge of the buy side, and the hospitality sector specifically, will significantly augment the organization and enhance the achievement of our strategic objectives,’ Hymel says in a statement.
Rothman is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, the CFA Institute and the Cornell Hotel Society.
