Hilton named Christian Charnaux chief development officer, effective July 1, the company announced Thursday.
Charnaux will take over from Kevin Jacobs, who was serving as president of development in addition to CFO. Jacobs will continue in his role as CFO.
Charnaux rejoins Hilton after a seven-year stint as chief growth officer at Inspire Brands, which owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Sonic. Previously, he was senior vice president of corporate finance at Hilton, where he held several executive roles over the course of nearly a decade.
In his new role, Charnaux will report to Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta.
“Christian is joining at a time of incredible momentum for our business and will play a critical role in helping us accelerate our global growth agenda,” Nassetta said in a statement. “With his experience and focus, we will continue building on our network effect — giving more guests even more places to stay for every stay occasion.”
Development continues to be a strong point for Hilton, which approved 32,600 new rooms for development during the first quarter of this year, bringing its total pipeline to 503,400 rooms as of the end of Q1, according to an earnings report released in May.
In a first-quarter earnings call last month, Nassetta said Hilton “remains confident” that it will deliver net unit growth of from 6% to 7% for the full year 2025.
At the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum last week, Nassetta spoke about the company’s global development plans, which he tied to the rise in middle-class consumers.
“When we come out in our wheelchairs in 20 years and [ask], ‘All right, what did we all do?’ It’ll be a mid-market story. It isn’t going to be that we opened thousands of luxury hotels,” Nassetta said. “The real story is what’s going on in the broader environment — growth in the middle class, more disposable income, desire for experiences.”
