Wyndham names permanent CFO amid global growth

The basics:

• Wyndham appoints permanent CFO, replacing interim leader Kurt Albert
• CFO previously led North America development for company
• David Wilner named chief development officer for North America
• Wyndham operates 8,300+ hotels in 100 countries across multiple brands

Wyndham Hotel & Resorts is adding a new chief financial officer.

The Parsippany-based hotel franchisor welcomed Amit Sripathi to the post, effective immediately, in a March 3 press release.

Sripathi previously served as the company’s chief development officer for the North America region. He succeeds interim CFO Kurt Albert. Wyndham named Albert as interim leader last fall, after longtime CFO Michele Allen departed the company to serve as Manasquan-based Jersey Mike’s Sub’s new finance chief.

Since joining Wyndham in 2021, Sripathi has held a variety of leadership roles. Before that, he was with RLJ Lodging Trust, where he was responsible for capital markets and corporate finance. His background also includes working in the real estate, lodging and gaming investment banking group at Deutsche Bank.

Wyndham President and CEO Geoff Ballotti commented, “Amit’s combination of deep finance and capital markets expertise coupled with firsthand operational leadership at Wyndham make him the ideal candidate to lead our finance organization.”

“Amit is uniquely qualified to deliver on our shareholder expectations and has proven himself a champion of owners, as evidenced by Wyndham’s record openings, executions and development pipelines both here in the U.S. and internationally. We are confident in his ability to build on our sustained successes and capture opportunities that will drive increased profitability for our franchisees, while returning excess capital to shareholders in a consistent and sustainable manner,” he went on.

Building on ‘Count on Me’ culture

In 2025, the company opened a record 72,000 rooms and grew its global development pipeline to 259,000 rooms, according to Wyndham’s most recent earnings report. This year, Wyndham expects strong net room growth and anticipates continued robust openings across core U.S. and international markets.

Commenting on his new position, Sripathi said, “I very much look forward to partnering with the entire leadership team to drive enhanced value creation and build on the ‘Count on Me’ culture that defines our company.”

He also said, “Wyndham is a truly unique company with an asset-light franchise business model that consistently delivers for its owners and shareholders. Our priority is to maintain our rigorous financial discipline and capital allocation strategy to ensure we achieve our long-term growth objectives and maximize shareholder returns.”

Along with appointing Sripathi as permanent CFO, Wyndham tapped David Wilner as chief development officer for the North America region, according to the press release.

In his new role, Wilner will lead North American franchise sales and architecture design & construction teams. A nearly eight-year veteran of the company, Wilner is credited with creating and launching one of the fastest-growing extended stay brands in the industry, Echo Suites.

Before Wyndham, Wilner spent 20 years as part of the franchise sales leadership team for hotel chain La Quinta.

Chief development officer ‘driving growth’

Ballotti shared, “From leading development at La Quinta prior to Wyndham’s acquisition of the brand to driving growth across our new construction prototype brands including La Quinta, WaterWalk, Hawthorn Suites, ECHO Suites and Microtel, David has tremendous expertise translating owners’ needs into strategic growth. Owners and team members view him as a sincere and trusted partner who is most focused on our owner’s success, while helping our teams accelerate domestic net room growth across all of Wyndham’s brands.”

Both Sripathi and Wilner will report to Ballotti, the company said.

With more than 8,300 hotels across 100 countries on six continents, Wyndham is considered the world’s largest hotel franchising company. Its portfolio of brands includes AmericInn, Super 8, Days Inn, La Quinta, Hawthorn Suites, Trademark Collection and Wyndham.

Wyndham also runs a top-rated rewards program that offers over 122 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally.