Kempinski Loses CEO and Five Senior Executives in Leadership Exit

Group CEO Barbara Muckermann has left Kempinski Hotels after nearly two and a half years, in a wave of senior departures that has removed most of the functions responsible for repositioning the 74-property luxury group.

Chief Financial Officer Gordon Drake, Chief Human Resources Officer Karin Raguin, Chief Development Officer Frank Veenstra and Chief Brand Officer Barbara Biffi have also left, according to multiple sources who spoke to Skift. Chief Commercial Officer Massimo Brancaleoni has resigned, though it is unclear whether he has departed.

The reasons remain disputed, sources said. The exits land on a company that, as of a September 30 announcement, operates 74 hotels and residences across 33 countries, with most properties managed for independent owners rather than owned.

What does this change for owners and lenders?

Succession is unclear. Speculation among sources points to Chairman René Nijhof taking over on an interim basis. Kempinski has already named Noel Attard as chief development officer and Andrea Vanni as CFO, and the board presents both appointments as continuity in the transformation.

The leadership churn coincides with two separate capital conversations. Sources said the Bahraini-controlled group's owners had been seeking a financial buyer, and one person familiar with the talks said some prospective buyers balked at the asking price. Separately, Muckermann had been discussing financing with bankers and capital providers for further hotel acquisitions — a strategy now without its chief advocate.

The financial backdrop

Public filings show the pressure behind the upheaval:

• Consolidated revenue fell to €164.6 million in 2024, down from €174.9 million
• Management-fee revenue declined to €41.8 million
• Total hotel revenue fell 3%
• Net profit rose to €17.6 million
• The management report forecast a sharp decline in 2025 pretax profit

The group stayed profitable, but a shrinking fee base at a manager-dependent model — most properties belong to independent owners — makes leadership stability a commercial question, not just a governance one.

Several of the departing executives had joined only recently. Veenstra was named chief development officer in September 2025, months before his exit.

Kempinski did not answer detailed questions, and Muckermann declined to comment.

With an interim structure likely, a sale process that has struggled on price, and a forecast profit decline for 2025, the next test is whether Attard and Vanni can hold the repositioning together while the ownership question resolves.