Sonesta Leadership

MICHELLE STEFFENS

Chief Operating Officer

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Michelle Steffens serves as Chief Operating Officer at Sonesta, where she oversees the company’s portfolio of hotels and leads regional operations teams. She brings more than over 20 years of hospitality experience, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Operations at Aimbridge Hospitality. Her career also includes senior-level and regional leadership roles with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Island Hospitality, and White Lodging.

CHRIS TRICK

Chief Marketing and Performance Officer

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Chris Trick was appointed Chief Marketing and Performance Officer in August 2024. For the last four years, he has served as Chief Marketing Officer and now oversees Sonesta’s Marketing and Distribution teams. Trick has helped franchise companies grow their businesses for over twenty years.

Trick created an integrated campaign to position Sonesta for continued growth as part of the Sonesta Franchise team. This story tells of Sonesta’s acquisition of Red Lion, the transition, and the launch of four of Sonesta’s legacy brands. In his role with Sonesta, he oversees B2B and B2C initiatives, Revenue Management, Distribution, e-commerce, Field and brand Marketing, and Communications for the franchise division.

Jeffery Edwards

Chief Technology and Commercial Transformation Officer

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Jeff is an established technology industry executive who has successfully led a number of companies in senior executive roles as CEO, President, CIO and Executive VP.

Over the past 30 years he has developed a proven track record in defining and executing strategic technology vision, managing technical architecture teams, leading design and development teams, as well as operational and organizational expertise. He is highly proficient in evaluating skills portfolios, defining processes and business controls, and defining the most effective technology suite that is capable of enhancing business performance metrics for revenue generation, profitability and cost containment targets.

Experienced in management of key vendor agreements and optimizing vendor relationship value through diligent contract management and negotiation. A disciplined fiscal manager with extensive experience in P & L responsibilities with annual budgets in excess of $400 million.

DAVE BRYAN

Chief Financial Officer

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Dave Bryan joined Sonesta in May of 2024 as SVP Finance responsible for its Finance Shared Service Center. He was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in April of 2025.

Bryan is an accomplished financial executive at both large public and small private companies. We believe that his comprehensive experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, and strong work ethic will help fuel and sustain Sonesta’s growth.

Bryan is looking forward to building financial acumen across the business, meeting the company’s evolving business intelligence needs and continuing Sonesta’s rapid growth.

Phil Hugh

Chief Development Officer

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Phil Hugh serves as Chief Development Officer for Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, where he leads the company’s strategic growth initiatives across its diverse portfolio of brands. In this role, he is responsible for expanding Sonesta’s footprint, fostering relationships with owners, developers, and management companies, and driving the company’s long-term development vision.

A seasoned hospitality executive with more than 25 years of experience, Hugh is recognized for his expertise in franchise sales, development strategy, and organizational leadership. Before joining Sonesta, he founded Hugh Hotel Group (HHG) in 2022, an organization dedicated to maximizing profitability and value for hotel owners through strong partnerships and operational insight.

Previously, Hugh served as Chief Development Officer, Americas, for Radisson Hotel Group, where he led development and growth strategies for brands including Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. He played a key role in driving portfolio expansion, managing strategic investments, and leading merger and acquisition activity that culminated in the successful sale of the Americas division to Choice Hotels International.

Earlier in his career, Hugh held leadership roles at Red Roof Franchising, where he established the franchise division and transformed the company into an asset-light, franchisee-focused organization. He also served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Development & Sales at Realogy, President and CEO at DOC Corp, and Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales at Cendant.

Throughout his career, Hugh has been recognized for his ability to build high-performing teams, strengthen brand portfolios, and cultivate meaningful partnerships that fuel sustainable growth within the hospitality and real estate industries.

SHAUN WOOD

Chief Information Officer

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ELIZABETH HARLOW

Chief Brand Officer

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Elizabeth Harlow was appointed Chief Brand Officer for Sonesta International Hotels Corporation in May 2021. She specializes in building and defining the Sonesta brands, analyzing the loyalty program to articulate the value proposition and engagement strategy clearly, and optimizing the over-arching user experience throughout the customer journey.

With over two decades in brand strategy and marketing, Harlow has mastered the perfect juxtaposition of brand, service, and luxury while seamlessly driving financial results.

NICOLE SHANKS

Chief People Officer

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Nicole Shanks serves as Chief People Officer for Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, where she leads the company’s human resources strategy across its multi-brand portfolio. In this role, she is responsible for talent acquisition, total rewards, employee relations, and HR operations, aligning people strategies with business performance and long-term growth.

A seasoned hospitality executive with more than 20 years of experience, Nicole is recognized for her expertise in building scalable HR infrastructure, driving organizational transformation, and fostering high-performing, service-driven cultures. Prior to Sonesta, she held senior human resources leadership roles with Controlled Contamination Services, Texas Western Hospitality, and Omni Hotels & Resorts, where she supported growth across private equity, REIT-owned, and privately owned organizations.

Nicole earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Georgia State University and holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification.

GARINE FEREJIAN-MAYO

Chief Commercial Officer

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In April 2021, Garine Ferejian-Mayo was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation.

In this newly created position, Ms. Ferejian-Mayo leverages her 25 years of industry experience to drive the execution of Sonesta’s commercial operations while leading the company’s Sales, Revenue, Distribution, Call Center, and Field-Marketing teams. In conjunction with Chief Operating Officer Michelle Steffens, Ferejian-Mayo crafted the company’s commercial strategy to position Sonesta as an industry leader with outstanding financial results and guest satisfaction.