Blair Wills Named StepStone Hospitality CEO

PROVIDENCE, RI—StepStone Hospitality, a management company specializing in hotel, restaurant and renovation management, has promoted Blair Wills to president/CEO. In this expanded role, Wills is charged with leading the team in maximizing value in StepStone’s existing management properties as well as the growth of the StepStone portfolio. Tom Russo will continue in his role as chairman with a focus on strategic direction and development.

“Over the past 10 years, Blair has been instrumental in guiding and implementing the growth of StepStone Hospitality, skillfully combining asset management and operational knowledge in fulfilling his previous role as president and COO,” said Russo. “Anyone who has ever met Blair instantly appreciates his understated, yet collaborative and steady leadership style, which has garnered confidence from a wide range of ownership clients as well as helped foster a cohesive leadership team. With Blair in this new role, we look forward to continuing our growth trajectory and delivering superior results to our owners while maintaining our strong company culture.”

Prior to joining StepStone, Wills spent eight years in multiple asset management roles with hotelAVE, first as an analyst, working his way up to VP, responsible for the asset management of a portfolio including multiple branded and independent hotels. Additional professional experience includes serving as an analyst at the Plasencia Group and as a member of the Leisure, Lodging and Gaming Equity Research team at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown.

“I look forward to continuing to work with our StepStone team members who show incredible resolve and focus day in and day out, and building on the strong foundation already in place,” said Wills. “We, as a team, remain focused on executing on our ownership’s goals and objectives and driving results.”