Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), the global timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida, has announced the appointment of former hedge-fund analyst Mark Melnyk as vice president of IR.
Prior to joining HGV, Melnyk ran his own corporate finance and financial planning consultancy called The Demarest Group. Before that, he worked as a hedge-fund analyst at three New York firms: Moore Capital Management, Scopus Asset Management and Highline Capital Management.
During his time on the buy side, Melnyk undertook global sector coverage of the gambling, lodging, leisure and consumer staples industries.
‘Mark has a reputation for excellence within the financial community,’ comments Dan Mathewes, HGV’s executive vice president and CFO, in a company statement. ‘As an accomplished investment professional with more than 15 years of experience investing in the consumer space, Mark brings his dedication to analytical rigor and key strategic insights to our investor relations department.’
Melnyk attended North Carolina’s Duke University where he earned a degree in economics and computer science. He replaces Robert LaFleur, who joined HGV in 2016 and built up the IR function in advance of the company’s spin off from Hilton Worldwide Holdings.
While few hedge-fund analysts end up in IR, it is common for individuals with some kind of analyst experience to move into the profession. In the US market, the number of IROs reporting their background as securities analyst rose 333 percent between 2000 and 2016, according to research by NIRI.
