PERSONALITIES
CONVICTIONS TRUMP
FEARS
VICEROY CEO BILL WALSHE PREFERS TO ACTIVATE IDEAS QUICKLY AND FOCUS ON THE ‘ WHY .’
By JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Bill Walshe and his team at Viceroy Hotel Group don ’ t spend time in meetings risk-mitigating decisions . They don ’ t wonder when the next wave of analysis is going to come across their desks to give them sufficient confidence to justify what they know is the right thing to do . Instead , CEO Walshe , whose business card title is Chief Pride Officer , says they move quickly and celebrate their intent as vigorously as their successes . “ I can tell you for sure an action will be unsuccessful if it never gets made , and I see a lot of my competitors who put so much time and effort into the analysis before activation ,” he says . “ We like to get to activation quickly .”
In 2008 , 50 % of the Los Angelesbased luxury lifestyle brand , which today has 14 hotels under management , was acquired from Kor Hotel Group by Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Co . The remaining 50 %, which Mubadala has confirmed it is actively trying to acquire , is owned by Malaysian businessman Jho Low and his affiliates . Low is currently embroiled in a lawsuit brought by the U . S . Department of Justice , which alleges some US $ 540 million in assets , including rights to and interests in Viceroy Hotel Group , were acquired with proceeds illegally siphoned from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd sovereign fund .
In the meantime , Walshe , an Irishman now in his fifth year at Viceroy after helping take Dublin ’ s Doyle family hotel collection private and who previous to that spent seven years with Dubai-based Jumeirah , continues to grow the Viceroy brand . “ We move fast , we get it done ,” he says while sitting in the rooftop bar of his newly opened Chicago property . “ If we make a mistake we learn from it . We move on to the next thing .”
Yes , speed to market is a priority for Walshe as he believes success or failure can hinge on efficient decision-making and rapid deployment . “ My point isn ’ t about the repercussions of making a
18 hotelsmag . com December 2017