Board of Directors
Stan Brown
Chair Board of Directors, StayWell Holdings
Stan Brown is the Chair Board of Directors for StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd. (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group), one of the largest hotel management groups in Asia Pacific.
Offering more than 38 years’ experience in Senior Management and Board of Director roles across internationally renowned hotels, resorts and hospitality organisations, Stan brings trusted leadership and extensive advisory skills to StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd.’s Board of Directors.
Stan entered the hospitality industry in 1981 as Vice President of Marriott Asia, where he completed an impressive 26 year tenure, before joining Vail Resorts as President of Vail Resorts Hospitality in 2007.
In June 2009, Stan was appointed Chief Operations Officer of United States based Holiday Retirement; a group of more than 260 senior living communities, leading the way in Independent Retirement Living.
In early 2011, Stan was appointed President & Managing Director of Cerberus Hospitality at Cerberus Capital Management before joining Prince Hotels, Inc. in January 2014 as Member of Board of Directors, based in Japan.
Prince Hotels, Inc. acquired StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group) in October 2017. Together, Prince Hotels, Inc. and StayWell Holdings offer a diverse portfolio of properties across a combined network of 95 open and operating hotels worldwide.
As part of the transition, Stan was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors for StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd., where he will provide leadership and ensure the organisation’s duties to stakeholders and strategic partners are managed to the highest standards.
Under Stan’s guidance, Prince Hotels, Inc. and StayWell Holdings’ will strive to achieve both companies’ strategic goal to deliver 250 hotels in the medium to long term. The expansion of both company brands will take place across the regions of Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
Simon Wan
Board of Directors, StayWell Holdings
President & Director – StayWell Holdings
Simon Wan is the President and Director of StayWell Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Prince Hotels & Resorts, the largest Hotel owner and operator in Japan. Prince is owned by Seibu Holdings, a well-respected Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a Gross Asset value of US$15 billion.
Prince Hotels & Resorts and StayWell’s combined brand offerings range from luxury to lifestyle though to midscale with each brand highlighted by quality guest experiences. Brands operated by Prince Hotels and Resorts include The Prince, Grand Prince Hotel, Prince Hotel and Prince Smart Inn, while brands operated by StayWell include The Prince Akatoki, Policy, Park Regis, Leisure Inn Plus and Leisure Inn.
Prince Hotels operate a combined network of 55 hotels, 31 golf courses and 10 ski resorts. StayWell has an existing network of 25 open and operating hotels and a further 16 hotels that are committed and opening over the next few years. In addition, StayWell has a number of strategic partners being Manhatton Hotel Group in China (19 hotels) and Cristal Group in the Middle East (15 hotels).
With over 35 years of experience working for leading international hospitality groups including Holiday Inn, Hyatt and Accor around the world, Simon is spearheading Prince and StayWell overseas hotel developments and operations.
Prior to StayWell, Simon was the CEO and Managing Director of THL – an ASX listed hotel company with 530 hotels worldwide. Prior roles include the Managing Director of the Park Plaza Hotel Group for Asia Pacific and Accor’s CEO for North Asia, based in Beijing, overseeing a hotel portfolio of 68 hotels in the region.
Yoshiki Kaneda
Board of Directors, StayWell Holdings
Executive Managing Officer at Prince Hotels & Resorts
Yoshiki Kaneda is General Manager at Prince Hotels & Resorts and a board member of StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd. (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group), one of the largest hotel management groups in Asia Pacific.
Offering a robust background in hotel administration and hospitality management over 30 years in a number of management positions at both property and corporate level, Yoshiki has a strong understanding of the inner workings of multi-national hotel brands, having worked across various international markets’ including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and North America.
Yoshiki was previously Executive Corporate Officer and Regional General Manager of Tokyo Metropolitan Area of Prince Hotel. He also served as General Manager, Business Strategy Department at the corporate office of Prince Hotels Inc.
Prior to joining Prince Hotels, Inc. in 2010, Yoshiki has been with Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts for 25 years and held senior positions including Corporate Director of Finance at Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts Headquarter in Singapore and Vice President and Director of Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts North America, where he was responsible for overall finance, operation and development of the portfolio of Pan Pacific brand in USA and Canada.
Yoshiki holds a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide, Inc. acquired StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group) in October 2017. Together, Prince Hotels, Inc. and StayWell Holdings offer a diverse portfolio of properties across a combined network of 95 open and operating hotels worldwide.
As part of the transition, Yoshiki joined the Board of Directors for StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd as Senior Vice President, where he continues to help guide, Prince Hotels, Inc. and StayWell Holdings’ to achieve both companies’ strategic goal; to deliver 250 hotels in the medium to long term.
The expansion of both company brands will take place across the regions of Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
Tetsuhisa Tashiro
Board of Directors, StayWell Holdings
Senior Vice President & Director – StayWell Holdings
Tetsuhisa Tashiro is Senior Vice President & Director. A member of the greater Prince Hotels team with more than 30 years of hotel experience across various brands and positions, Tetsuhisa has a vast understanding of hotel operations on all levels and across all departments.
Commencing his hotel career as a trainee at several properties at Prince Hotel, Tetsuhisa has had hospitality in his blood from a young age. After his initial training, he moved into the Prince Marketing Department at Corporate level, before being assigned to the Business Strategy Department of Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka. From here, Tetsuhisa expanded his management experience at Corporate Planning Department at Seibu Golf Inc., where his focus was on improving the business management of the company, and budget management and analysis.
Furthermore, from 2011 to 2016, at the Kioicho Opening Preparation Division at Prince Hotels Inc. Corporate Office, Tetsuhisa was involved in the preparations for the opening of The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, which opened as the most luxurious Prince Hotel in 2016. Using his experience and competence, he successfully completed this major project with a total project cost of more than $700 million USD.
Continuing his professional journey, Tetsuhisa moved into the Business Strategy Department, Hotel and Leisure Corporate Planning at Seibu Holdings Inc. in 2016, taking on responsibility for managing and governing all of Seibu Group’s hotel and leisure businesses. It was here that he assumed the responsibility of managing both national and international businesses including StayWell Group.
As part of the transition, Tetsuhisa joined the Board of Directors for StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd as Senior Vice President in April 2022. He will continue to bring his expertise in marketing, finance, and governance to the greater Seibu Group portfolio in order to assist in achieving the company’s strategic goals.
Eiichi Akamatsu
Board of Directors, StayWell Holdings
Executive Managing Officer, Prince Hotels and Resorts
Mr. Eiichi Akamatsu is the Corporate Executive Officer and Head of Overseas Business Department of Prince Hotels and Resorts – a department that was established in 2019 to lead the expansion of the global hotel business along with StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group).
In addition to this role, Eiichi is also a member of StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd. Board of Directors.
With almost three decades of experience in hotel operations, Eiichi has a strong understanding of how to market and grow hotel brands globally, backed by a robust background in both hotel sales and marketing management and corporate planning.
Eiichi entered the hotel industry in 1991 at the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, Tokyo (now, The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho) – one of Japan’s landmark luxury hotels. During his 16-year tenure here, Eiichi gained experience in varying roles within the administration, sales and marketing departments, providing strong professional foundations for a career in the hotel industry. After twelve years with the company, Eiichi went on to Manage the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka marketing department.
In 2007, Eiichi then made a lateral move within the Prince Hotels group to employ his expertise in Prince Hotels Inc. Corporate Planning Department. It was here that he assumed the responsibility of examining the broader Prince Hotels Inc. brand to provide strategic planning and advice that placed the company on a trajectory to achieve both short and long-term goals.
Over a course of nine years, Eiichi continued to move through various management roles in this department under Seibu Holdings Inc. – the Japanese holdings company who own and operate hotels in and outside of Japan, predominantly under three brands: The Prince, Grand Prince Hotel, and Prince Hotels and Resorts.
In 2015, Eiichi expanded his reach within the Japanese holdings company and was appointed to his current role as Head of Corporate Planning Department – Hotel and Leisure. This saw him take charge of Seibu Holdings’ ever-expanding portfolio of 70 hotels, 28 golf courses, 9 ski resorts and an aquarium (as at 2015), working to ensure the continued success of the company both nationally and internationally.
Over the past four years in this role, Eiichi has helped lead various exciting partnerships and acquisitions for Seibu Holdings Inc., including the Prince Hotels, Inc. attainment of StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd (formerly StayWell Hospitality Group) in 2017. Together, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide, Inc. and StayWell Holdings now offer a diverse and growing portfolio of properties across a combined network of 76 open and operating hotels worldwide.
As part of the transition, Eiichi also joined the Board of Directors for StayWell Holdings Pty Ltd where he continues to help guide Prince Hotels Inc. and StayWell Holdings’ to achieve both companies’ strategic goal; to deliver 250 hotels globally in the medium to long term, including Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Asia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
