TORONTO — RIU Hotels & Resorts has announced the retirement of CEO Carmen Riu. 

RIU, who currently shares the position with her brother Luis Riu, will retire her executive and institutional representation roles at the company before the summer of this year. Luis will continue as the company’s sole CEO.

Moreover, Carmen Riu has now assumed the role of Chair of the Group’s Governing Board. All members of the fourth generation of the Riu family have now also joined this body, marking the beginning of generational handover at RIU Hotels, a process that will be led by the family through the Group’s governing bodies.

Carmen Riu began her career at RIU in 1977 as manager of the hotel Riu Bali in Playa de Palma, Mallorca. In 1978, she took the reins of the human resources department, a role that expanded to include administration and finance in 1981. To take on these new responsibilities, Carmen supplemented her bachelor’s degree in economics and business studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona with several postgraduate courses in family business and human resources management.

After the death of her father Luis Riu Bertrán in 1998 she was appointed CEO alongside her brother, forming a management tandem that has been responsible for the RIU Hotels & Resorts chain’s international growth and consolidation over the last 25 years.

Nearing her 70th birthday, Carmen leaves the company during a period of strong recovery post-pandemic. Her last major project was the launch of the Proudly Committed strategy, which will prepare RIU Hotels & Resorts for future challenges by placing sustainability at the heart of all the company’s decisions.