Two executives announce plans to retire from hospitality company

Two executives at a Richmond-based publicly-traded hospitality company have announced plans to retire next year.     

Apple Hospitality REIT Inc. said Monday that Kristian Gathright will retire as executive vice president and chief operating officer in the first quarter of 2020. Additionally, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bryan Peery also intends to retire from the company at that time.

Gathright has joined the company’s board of directors, increasing its size from eight to nine members. She will stand for election at the company’s 2019 annual meeting.

Apple Hospitality is working with an executive search firm, with a focus on external candidates, for a successor CFO. The new CFO and the company will decide how to transition Gathright’s and Peery’s responsibilities. Gathright and Peery will remain with the company over the next year to assist with the transition.

“Krissy and Bryan have been instrumental in making Apple Hospitality what it is today, and while I will miss my daily interactions with each of them upon their departures, we have an incredible team that I am confident will continue to drive the Company’s success,” Justin Knight, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Apple Hospitality is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns 243 hotels in 34 states.