G+M: FHRI CEO Interview
Mar 24, 2014, 5:23 pm
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G+M: FHRI CEO Interview
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...4449/?page=all
extract:
Much of his travel is further afield than this brief trek to Quebec City to survey the renovations. FRHI Hotels & Resorts operates more than 100 hotels in dozens of countries under the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands. Canadians are most familiar with its iconic domestic properties, including Toronto's Royal York and Alberta's Banff Springs, but its footprint stretches from Maui to Manila, Acapulco to Abu Dhabi, and Zurich to Zimbali. There are a smattering of hotels in China, a frequent stop for Mr. Fatt.
There are also some that he's never been to: "We have three hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, owned by the bin Laden family. They are massive hotels. I haven't been there because you have to be Muslim," he says.
A lot of his time is spent in the Middle East. Sixty-three per cent of Toronto-based FRHI is owned by Qatar Investment Authority, the Doha-based sovereign wealth fund, which has bought up stakes in companies ranging from Credit Suisse to Volkswagen and BlackBerry.
FRHI has about 48,000 employees and annual profit in the $100-million-plus range. But Mr. Fatt sometimes feels like an afterthought for QIA. "Some reports say that they have $10-billion a month of free cash flow," he says of Qatar's government. "That's a problem that I'd love to have right now."
extract:
Much of his travel is further afield than this brief trek to Quebec City to survey the renovations. FRHI Hotels & Resorts operates more than 100 hotels in dozens of countries under the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands. Canadians are most familiar with its iconic domestic properties, including Toronto's Royal York and Alberta's Banff Springs, but its footprint stretches from Maui to Manila, Acapulco to Abu Dhabi, and Zurich to Zimbali. There are a smattering of hotels in China, a frequent stop for Mr. Fatt.
There are also some that he's never been to: "We have three hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, owned by the bin Laden family. They are massive hotels. I haven't been there because you have to be Muslim," he says.
A lot of his time is spent in the Middle East. Sixty-three per cent of Toronto-based FRHI is owned by Qatar Investment Authority, the Doha-based sovereign wealth fund, which has bought up stakes in companies ranging from Credit Suisse to Volkswagen and BlackBerry.
FRHI has about 48,000 employees and annual profit in the $100-million-plus range. But Mr. Fatt sometimes feels like an afterthought for QIA. "Some reports say that they have $10-billion a month of free cash flow," he says of Qatar's government. "That's a problem that I'd love to have right now."
Last edited by Jasper2009; Mar 24, 2014 at 9:31 pm Reason: copyright violation - please do not post full articles
