Hospitality veterans David Michels, Howard Panter appointed to Millennium & Copthorne board
They joined the board on Mar 27 and are experienced in hospitality, large-scale ops and customer-focused businesses
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[SINGAPORE] Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) on Friday (Apr 24) announced that it has appointed two hospitality veterans as directors of its board.
David Michels and Howard Panter joined the board on Mar 27 and bring with them “extensive international experience across hospitality, large-scale operations and customer-focused businesses”, said the hotel arm of City Developments Ltd (CDL) .
Their appointments will “further strengthen the board’s commercial and strategic capabilities”, it added.
M&C described Michels as a “highly respected veteran in the international hospitality sector”, whose experience spans hotel operations, asset management and corporate leadership.
He has held senior executive and board roles in several leading global hotel groups, it added.
Panter is a prominent entrepreneur, and also a theatre producer and co-founder of the Ambassador Theatre Group.
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His “substantial experience in large-scale venue operations, international partnerships and creative industries (offers) valuable insights into customer experience, brand development and global expansion”, M&C noted.
“Evolving priorities”
The CDL unit said the changes to its board composition are part of its efforts to “ensure it remains well-positioned to support the group’s evolving priorities”.
There have been four recent departures from M&C’s board, three of which were independent non-executive directors of CDL who were linked to a high-profile feud last year.
Of these four departures, the first to leave the board was David Hassan. He stepped down on Mar 30, but continues in his role as company secretary and interim group general counsel, said M&C in Friday’s statement.
On Wednesday, the company announced that Jennifer Duong Young, Daniel Marie Ghislain Desbaillets and Wong Ai Ai had also resigned from the board.
The three individuals, who remain CDL directors, were appointed to M&C’s board last year to strengthen governance at the subsidiary.
“With the board now strengthened, they have stepped down to focus on their responsibilities on the CDL board and its committees,” M&C said.
Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of CDL and M&C, said the group is “confident that these changes will support (its) continued growth and development”.
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