DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN) said Chief Financial Officer
Virginia Wilson is leaving the hospitality giant in the third
quarter "to pursue other interests," departing at a time of
slumping hotel results and a still-constrained credit market.
Because of the market woes, Wyndham and other timeshare
operators have found it hard to finance sales. At the same time,
the hotel industry is going through a sharp downturn as both
leisure and business travel slumps.
Wilson joined Wyndham - parent of the Ramada, Holiday Inn and
Days Inn chains - upon the company's creation after the breakup of
conglomerate Cendant in 2006. Before that, she was Cendant's chief
accounting officer for three years and controller of MetLife Inc.
(MET) for four.
Another life insurer, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.
(HIG), is in the midst of searching for a new chief executive, as
Ramani Ayer intends to retire by year's end.
Wyndham shares closed Thursday at $11.20. The stock is up 71%
this year, but remains down 41% from a year ago.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2136;
kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com