Oyo appoints former Starbucks COO Troy Alstead as an independent board member

Budget hospitality chain Oyo has appointed Troy Alstead, former Starbucks chief operating officer, as an independent board member of the company. Post the appointment, he will be joining Betsy Atkins, Munish Varma, Bejul Somaia, Aditya Ghosh, and Mohit Bhatnagar on the company’s board.

“Troy brings tremendous operating and governance experience that will help us continue delivering on our mission to help millions of middle-income people around the world gain access to quality accommodations at different price points,” said Ritesh Agarwal, Oyo’s founder, and Group CEO, in a statement.

Before joining Oyo, Alstead served in many positions at Starbucks for over 24 years until he left in February 2016. Currently, he is one of the founders, president, and CEO of Washington based Ocean5 and Table 47. Besides, he also sits on the board of Harley Davidson and Topgolf Group. 

In December, Oyo had elevated Aditya Ghosh to the company’s board of directors after his 15 months stint as the CEO of the Oyo’s India & South Asia hotels and homes business. 

The latest appointment for Oyo comes at a time when the Indian travel and hospitality sectors have taken a hard knock due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Gurugram-based company had recently announced that a certain number of its employees in India will be opting for voluntary leave with limited benefits from May 4 along with a 20% pay cut for its employees. 

While Agarwal has foregone his salary for a year, the top management too has voluntarily taken salary cuts. 

According to the latest media reports, Oyo is also planning to offload more properties around the world. While the company does not plan to completely exit any market, it will either terminate or not renew contracts with loss-making hotels, the report stated.