RedDoorz replaces COO, makes other new leadership appointments

SINGAPORE-BASED budget hotel operator RedDoorz on Wednesday said new hire Kelvin Teo will replace Rishabh Singhi as its chief operating officer (COO), to help oversee its business and operations across the region.

Mr Singhi had chaired the operations team for over four years, and left in Sept 2019 to pursue other opportunities overseas, he told The Business Times.(see amendment note)

Mr Teo has more than 20 years of experience in tech and online industries, having served as managing director for Groupon Asia and chief business officer for MoneySmart Group.

The budget hotel operator said it will bring on board Trixie Thye as its new regional vice-president of human resources, and promote Liviu Nedef to the post of chief marketing officer.

Amit Saberwal, founder and chief executive of RedDoorz, said: "I'm incredibly excited to officially welcome Kelvin and Trixie to our leadership team and congratulate Liviu on his well-deserved promotion. Their wealth of experience and successful track record in our region will undoubtedly help us immensely in our mission to transform hospitality in South-east Asia as we start to focus on our post-pandemic recovery."

Ms Thye brings almost two decades of experience from global corporations such as professional-services company Accenture and materials-solution firm Sibelco.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

Most recently, she was the regional human resources vice-president of Beijing-headquartered IT consulting and outsourcing company, Pactera.

"I am proud to be part of a growing, innovative company like RedDoorz. Today's economic and social environment poses additional challenges for organisations of all sizes and I'm happy to see that RedDoorz is working hard to ensure its people, talent and culture strategies play a central role in the business direction," she said.

As chief marketing officer, Mr Nedef will lead the company's marketing, communications and direct business-to-consumer (B2C) sales efforts. He will focus on turning RedDoorz into the preferred hospitality brand in South-east Asia, and drive its mobile-first customer strategies.

Across the region, RedDoorz currently operates a network of more than 1,800 properties in over 150 cities, spanning Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.

Last year, it raised US$70 million as part of its larger Series C round, and launched a new regional tech hub in Vietnam. This was less than five months after it closed its US$45 million Series B. Since its inception in 2015, the company has raised approximately US$140 million.

RedDoorz was last valued at US$238.8 million after its recent funding round, according to venture investment database VentureCap Insights.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Mr Singhi had left recently, according to RedDoorz. Mr Singhi has reached out to correct this. The article has been revised to reflect the change.