Millennium and Copthorne appoints new CFO

Hotels group Millennium and Copthorne (MLC) has announced three top-level changes to its board and senior management, including the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

John Chang, who qualified as a certified public accountant in Singapore in 1994, is now MLC's CFO reporting to Chief Executive Officer Wong Hong Ren. He has previously worked for a Singaporean diversified real estate firm which operates six hotels in Asia; he also led a turn-around of its stand-alone food and beverage business.

"The group anticipates that Mr Chang will be invited to join the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc in due course following a period of familiarisation with the Group's operations," the company said.

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Meanwhile, Sean Collins, a former audit and advisory partner at KPMG, is to join the MLC board as an independent non-executive member in September. Fabrizio Gaggio has already been appointed as the group's Senior Vice President of the Global Asset Management division; he was previously the Managing Director at Italian hotel business Starhotels.

"I am delighted to welcome Sean, John and Fabrizio to Millennium & Copthorne," said Chairman Kwek Leng Beng. "These are significant appointments which are part of our ongoing management restructure and will strengthen our strategic, financial and operational management capabilities at an uncertain time for the global economy.

"They will help us to maintain and develop the high standards of prudent financial management that have served the group well since its inception and further develop the group's risk management and internal control framework."

MLC also revealed that it is on the lookout for a new Company Secretary after Adrian Bushnell decided to "pursue other interests".

Shares advanced in early trading on Tuesday, trading 0.75% higher at 468.5p in the opening minutes.

BC