In what was apparently an unexpected move, French-born Hubert Joly resigned without notice on Friday after a four-year stint as chief executive of Carlson to reportedly become CEO of struggling retail electronics chain Best Buy. Carlson’s board moved swiftly and over the weekend promoted CFO Trudy Rautio, a 15-year company veteran, as the fifth president and CEO of the 74-year-old private company.
Rautio has been responsible for directing all financial and information technology operations of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company and serves on the boards of Carlson Wagonlit Travel and The Rezidor Hotel Group – Carlson’s majority-owned hotel group in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“I am very humbled,” Rautio told HOTELS. “Carlson is a great organization with extraordinary leaders throughout, and having the support of the Carlson family and board is very important.”
Rautio said she had no particular ambition to reach this level at Carlson, adding, “I come from a small town and a humble background. I have not aspired to any of the positions I have gotten. I have worked hard and have been lucky to be in the right places at the right times. I had no lofty ambitions and always have seen myself in more of a support role.”
Nonetheless, Rautio is thrilled with her new opportunity. “It is great time in Carlson’s history,” she added. “We are progressing on our strategies and executing well against our initiatives. We are poised for an acceleration of our growth assuming the economic headwinds ever slow down.”
As for changes she will institute walking into her new role, Rautio said she sees a continuation of the charted course. “Businesses are in various stages of execution of Ambition 2015 (1,500 hotels by 2015) and we are seeing progress, but we are right in the middle of it,” she said. “There will be no major shifts in strategy. We are starting to look at what happens beyond 2015 and will begin to address that at Carlson’s board retreat in September.”
On the announcement of Rautio’s new posting, Carlson Chairwoman Marilyn Carlson Nelson said, “Carlson is ahead of plan and Trudy is the ideal leader to continue our robust strategies for continued success and profitability. We are poised to accelerate our growth and Trudy has the experience, leadership and vision for Carlson’s exciting next chapter.”
Nelson added, “With Hubert Joly’s leadership through some very difficult financial times, Carlson is on strong financial footing.”
Rautio, Carlson’s second female president and CEO following Nelson, has also served as president of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, The Americas. Prior to joining Carlson, Rautio was senior vice president and chief financial officer of Jostens, Inc., Minneapolis, and served as vice president of finance for Minneapolis-based Pillsbury Co.