Aman Group has appointed Victor Clavell as chief operating officer, handing him responsibility for global operations across a portfolio that now spans 35 hotels, resorts and branded residences in 20 destinations. He is based at the group’s Swiss corporate office and reports directly to chairman and chief executive Vlad Doronin.
The appointment lands at a point of unusual breadth for the company. Alongside its established estate, the group is building out a second hotel brand, a run of branded residence projects and a set of consumer lines covering skincare, fragrance, supplements, ready-to-wear and furniture. Each of those sits under the new chief operating officer’s remit.
His brief is defined in three parts: guest experience, consistency and financial performance, applied uniformly across every brand and business unit. He will work closely with the chairman on the group’s continued expansion, including a pipeline of projects currently under construction.
Three decades across four regions
Victor brings more than 30 years of senior operational, brand and development experience, gathered across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. That geographic spread matters for a company whose properties range from urban addresses to remote retreats, each operating under different regulatory, labour and supply conditions.
His track record covers a roll call of luxury hospitality names, among them The Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, W Hotels, Rosewood and Urban Resort Concepts. The mix is instructive. It takes in classic grande dame service culture, design-led city brands and independent Asian luxury, three quite different operating models that rarely appear on a single curriculum vitae.
“Victor’s global expertise, operational discipline, and deep understanding of luxury hospitality make him an exceptional addition to Aman Group’s leadership team. His proven ability to elevate brand performance, lead complex multi-market portfolios, and deliver transformative results will be invaluable as we continue to evolve Aman globally.”
Vlad Doronin, Chairman and CEO of Aman Group
From Hong Kong and EMEAC
He joins from Urban Resort Concepts in Hong Kong, where he served as chief executive officer. There he led the repositioning and global expansion of The PuLi Group across hospitality, residences and retail, work that required moving a respected but geographically concentrated brand onto a wider stage.
Before that he was senior vice president and managing director, EMEAC, at Rosewood Hotel Group, where he oversaw a fast-growing region and led the profitable turnaround of the European and Middle Eastern portfolio. Profitability, in other words, is territory he has already covered under pressure, which sharpens the financial half of his new mandate.
“Aman has set the benchmark for luxury hospitality for more than three decades, and I am delighted to join the company as it continues to evolve,as Aman Group grows across new brands and business verticals, my focus will be on ensuring operational excellence while supporting the thoughtful, strategic development that builds on the brand’s remarkable legacy. I look forward to working closely with the team to strengthen the foundations of the Group as we enter this next phase.”
Victor Clavell, Chief Operating Officer, AMAN Group
The company was founded in 1988 around the idea of intimate retreats delivered with the unassuming warmth of a private home. The first property, Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand, gave the concept its name, which translates as place of peace.
Growth since then has been deliberate rather than rapid. Thirty-five properties across 20 destinations over 37 years works out at roughly one opening a year, a pace that has protected the scarcity value the brand trades on. Holding that discipline while the pipeline expands is the operational balancing act now falling to the new chief operating officer.