Virgin Hotels has named Teddy Mayer as its new vice president of design for the head office team in Miami.
“Teddy’s multifaceted background will bring great value to Virgin Hotels as we focus on our next properties in Nashville, New York, and a few (locations) we have yet to announce,” says Raul Leal, CEO of Virgin Hotels. “We’re a solutions-driven culture, and we look for people who can identify pain points and provide resolutions that can be added to our hotel’s proposition. With Teddy’s experience in the lifestyle sector, he will bring a fresh perspective and aid the team in challenging convention and changing the commonplace.”
In addition to working with creative consultants, Mayer will be responsible for overseeing the brand’s vision and execution, starting with the development of Virgin hotels in Nashville, slated for 2016, and New York, slated for 2017.
“I’ve always respected the Virgin brand as a leader in design,” says Mayer. “It is a pivotal time in the evolution of the hotel industry, so I am thrilled to join an innovative brand that values design as a vehicle for change.”
Mayer was previously the senior director of design and development at Morgans Hotel Group for seven years, during which he worked to expand the Delano, Mondrian, and Hudson Hotel brands. His design career began at New York-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill with hospitality interior projects for brands like W Hotels and Resorts, Capella, and the James.
He most recently served as regional director of hospitality interiors for New York-based Gensler where he was responsible for founding a hospitality interiors studio and developing the regional practice.
Mayer earned a bachelor of fine arts in interior design and a bachelor of architecture in 2002 from the University of Idaho, where he also earned his master’s of architecture.