Amber Asher has been named CEO of Standard International, parent company of Standard Hotels, Bunkhouse and Peri Hotels, while Amar Lalvani, CEO for the past eight years, will move into the executive chairman role.
Asher and Lalvani have worked side by side for more than a decade, overseeing the operations of the 17 properties within the portfolio. The Standard, Hua Hin, the brand’s first resort in Thailand, will open on December 1, 2021, followed by The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, the company’s Asia flagship, which will open in 2022. This month, the company announced The Standard, Ibiza, which is also slated to open in 2022. These three new properties will kick off a series of 10 additional projects in markets including Singapore, Melbourne, Lisbon, Dublin, Brussels and Las Vegas.
Lalvani will remain active as a board member and on key strategic projects, brand initiatives and global capital and developer relationships. Srettha Thavisin, president and CEO of Bangkok-based parent company Sansiri, will remain chairman of Standard International’s board of directors.
In 2013, Asher led the sale of a majority stake in the brand to Standard International which was formed by Lalvani. She then became executive vice president and general counsel of Standard International and in 2017 was promoted to president. She has played a pivotal role in all corporate transactions, including the purchase of a majority stake in The Bunkhouse Group, the formation, launch, and VC funding of the One Night booking app, and the capitalization of the company by Sansiri.
Prior to joining The Standard in 2011, served as the associate general counsel and senior vice president of Morgans Hotel Group.