Virgin Hotels Appoints Two Key Members to its Executive Management Team

Dan Mathewes appointed as Chief Financial Officer; Thayer Thompson named General Counsel and VP, Commercial

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. January 26, 2016

MIAMI, FL. January 26, 2016 - Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, welcomes two new members to its growing management team: Dan Mathewes as Chief Financial Officer and Thayer Thompson as General Counsel and VP, Commercial. With their first hotel, Virgin Hotels Chicago, already open, and several others in development in cities including Nashville, New York and Dallas, the appointments come as demand for more Virgin Hotels across the world increases.

"It's truly an exciting time for Virgin Hotels," says CEO Raul Leal. "We just celebrated Virgin Hotels Chicago's one year anniversary and Gold LEED Certification, and now that guests can truly experience the difference the Virgin lifestyle offers, people are clamoring for more of our hotels. Both Dan and Thayer will be key to our successful growth and development, and we're thrilled to have them on our team."

With more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Mathewes' background includes senior financial positions at The World, Kerzner International Holdings Limited, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited. In these roles, he oversaw all aspects of financial planning and analysis, corporate strategic planning, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions as well as information technology and risk management.

Mathewes received his Bachelors of Science in accounting and economics from Florida State University, graduating summa cum laude.

Thompson spent seven years as the Assistant General Counsel at Virgin Management USA, Inc., the corporate development and investment management division of the Virgin Group. In this role, he served as acting general counsel of Virgin Hotels since its 2010 inception. Prior to Virgin Management, he held positions with Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Thompson is a graduate of Duke University (BA, 1996), where he was a member of the Duke University Swim Team, and the University of Minnesota Law School (JD, magna cum laude, 1999).

Virgin Hotels Chicago accepts reservations at www.virginhotels.com, with Nashville, Dallas and New York slated to open next. Virgin Hotels continues to explore properties in cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, and London; locations where it is pursuing hotel and office conversions and ground-up development.

About Virgin Hotels

Virgin Hotels is a lifestyle hospitality brand that combines heartfelt service, straightforward value and a seamless, personalized hotel experience with the track record of innovation and smart disruption that Sir Richard Branson's global Virgin Group has pioneered for over 40 years. Each property will intermix a passion for food and beverage with music and culture, fusing with the local landscape and providing a vibrant and inclusive environment for travelers and locals alike. Virgin Hotels Chicago is now open, with Nashville, New York and others to follow. For more information, please visit www.virginhotels.com.

Contact:
Christi Cahill
Christi@thedooronline.com
646-340-1730