Jim is a highly accomplished Senior Executive and Board Member with 25 years of success in hospitality, lodging, resort, hotel, gaming, restaurant, spa, food & beverage, airline, and franchise. Leveraging extensive experience in international business, brand management, and product development, he is a valuable asset for a range of hospitality-related companies looking for turnaround, global branding, loyalty programs, and new products/services.
His broad areas of expertise include leadership; board/investor relations; business analysis, strategy, planning, and development; operations and P&L management; brand creation and management; marketing strategy; consumer insight and data research; franchising; licensing; restructure; reorganization; transformation; plant and facilities upgrades and management; process improvement; change management; customer satisfaction; and team building.
In his executive career, Jim has held several leadership positions at Hilton, including EVP, Global Brands, Marketing and Loyalty; SVP, Global Full-Service Brands; and SVP, Brand Management.
As EVP for Hilton, Jim was responsible for a $36B international portfolio of 13 leading consumer, full-service, and luxury/lifestyle hotel brands covering 5,000 locations across 105 countries. He directed worldwide brand marketing; product development (branded prototypes, food and beverage concepts, spa and fitness services, and guest technology). Globally Jim spearheaded development and launch of 4 major brands and instituted multiple series of high-impact digital innovations and apps system-wide. Jim Holthouser currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Focus Brands.
Jim earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in Economics and Political Science from University of Louisville. He has served on boards and advisory councils, including for American Lodging Association (Executive Committee), and multiple credit unions, hotels, and nonprofits. Jim is multilingual.