Karen DiFulgo has joined Peregrine Hospitality as chief people officer. She succeeds Ed Eynon, who will retire as Peregrine’s chief human resources officer later this summer, after a 45-year career.
“At Peregrine, we believe the guest experience starts with our people,” Peregrine Hospitality CEO Greg Kennealey said in a statement. “We’re grateful to Ed Eynon for his outstanding leadership and the strong foundation he’s built over the course of his tenure. As Karen steps into this role, we’re excited to welcome her to our executive team. Her track record of building high-performing, people-first organizations makes her the ideal leader to carry our talent strategy forward.”
“It’s been an honor to help shape Peregrine’s culture and industry-leading performance,” said Eynon. “I’m proud of what we’ve built as the organization has grown and evolved. I have every confidence that Karen’s leadership and vast industry experience will ensure Peregrine continues to grow with purpose.”
With nearly three decades of human resources leadership experience in the hospitality industry, DiFulgo most recently served as chief people officer at Hornblower Group, a global travel and transportation company with operations across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. There, she led a global team of more than 200 HR professionals supporting 10,000 employees, restructured the HR function, implemented scalable systems to support growth, and played a key leadership role in the company’s transition to new private equity ownership.
Prior to Hornblower, DiFulgo served as chief people officer at Benchmark Global Hospitality, where she oversaw talent strategy across a portfolio of more than 110 properties and led the integration of multiple acquisitions, including the company’s merger with Pyramid Hotel Group. Earlier in her career, she held senior HR roles at Gaylord Hotels, The Brickman Group and TNS Healthcare.