Mumbai/ New Delhi: American hospitality chain Hyatt Hotels Corp. is reshuffling its leadership in Asia Pacific, elevating long-time India head Sunjae Sharma to a strategic regional role based in Hong Kong.
Vikas Chawla will take over as president, India and Southwest Asia from 1 April.
Sharma, who currently serves as managing director for India and Southwest Asia, will move into a leadership position for the Asia Pacific region at the company’s Hong Kong hub, according to an internal email accessed by Mint.
The email sent last week by David Udell, group president for Asia Pacific, said Sharma would take on broader regional responsibilities as the hotel chain sharpens its focus on growth across the region.
In the communication, Udell said India represents a significant long-term growth opportunity for Hyatt.
Hyatt has been expanding aggressively in Asia Pacific, particularly in markets such as India, where demand for premium travel and luxury experiences has risen sharply in recent years. It currently has 85 hotels in the country under various brands.
In 2025, Mint reported that Hyatt Hotels planned to expand its footprint in India and Southwest Asia to tap growing domestic demand for experience-led travel. The company aims to reach 100 hotels in the country by 2030. At the time, Sharma had said new hotel supply in India was being absorbed faster than expected despite international travel not having fully recovered, with domestic leisure and business travel continuing to drive demand.
A Hyatt spokesperson in response to a Mint query said, “We can confirm there has been a leadership update for Hyatt in India and Southwest Asia to reinforce our long-term strategic ambitions in the region. A formal external announcement with additional details will be shared in due course.”
An email sent to Compass Group did not receive a response till press time.
“Since joining Hyatt in 2002 at Grand Hyatt Delhi, Sunjae has been instrumental in expanding our footprint, strengthening operations, and developing a deep bench of hospitality talent in India... These changes are an important step in advancing our 'Strategic India Plan' and underscore our deep commitment and investment to India's future,” Udell wrote.
Meanwhile, Chawla, who will be based in India and lead Hyatt’s next phase of expansion across the domestic market, will report to Udell and oversee Hyatt’s strategy, performance and expansion across the region.
He will focus on accelerating brand-led expansion, strengthening owner partnerships and building market leadership.
Chawla has about three decades of experience across food services, beverages and consulting. Most recently, he served as managing director and chief executive of Compass Group India, part of the global contract food services company Compass Group Plc. Before that, he founded the beverage brand Raskik and spent nearly two decades with The Coca-Cola Company in senior roles across India and Southeast Europe.
In the internal note, Chawla said his goal was to “make Hyatt the top hospitality brand amongst discerning travellers in India and accelerate our growth journey so that India becomes a significant pillar of growth for Hyatt”.