Christian Charnaux will return to Hilton as executive vice president and chief development officer. He joins from Inspire Brands – the restaurant company that owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and SONIC – where he served as chief growth officer since its founding in 2018. Charnaux will start on July 1, reporting to President and CEO Christopher Nassetta a part of Hilton’s executive committee. Kevin Jacobs will continue in the role of chief financial officer.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Christian back to Hilton and grateful to Kevin for his tremendous leadership during this period,” Nassetta said in a statement. “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. 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.”
“Having previously worked with Chris Nassetta and with many on the leadership team, I know the extraordinary culture and business to which I am returning, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about it,” said Charnaux. “I look forward to working collaboratively with our teams and owners as we continue to build on Hilton’s record-breaking results.”
Previously at Hilton, Charnaux served in several brand management, commercial and finance positions, including leading Hilton’s Investor Relations efforts. Prior to Hilton and Inspire Brands, Charnaux was with the Boston Consulting Group where he focused on the travel and consumer product sectors. He also worked for J.P. Morgan in the technology coverage and mergers & acquisition groups.
Charnaux is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar, and later received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the boards of ARCOP, National DCP, as vice chair of Georgia’s Partnership for Inclusive Innovation and on the University of North Carolina Board of Visitors.