After almost 40 years in the industry, the last 13 of which were with Accor Asia Pacific, Ray Stone, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing Asia Pacific, is retiring from his fulltime corporate role.

He will continue on in an advisory role next year as “Senior Advisor”. The key element in the new role will be building and maintaining Accor’s key customer and partner relationships.

In a letter to industry friends, he said, “In this connection I will continue to perform an active role in ITB Berlin next March as well as other major trade shows and in each of the new World of Accor events which have been scheduled for 2010.

“We have just finalized the dates, which include Mumbai for the first time. This will mark our first venture with World of Accor into the Indian market. 2010 will also be our seventh year of World of Accor in the Asia-Pacific, an event concept which we launched in the Australian market 10 years ago and broadened and enriched for the Asia-Pacific region immediately after Michael (Issenberg, Chairman and COO) promoted me to my current position in June 2003.”

Stone joined the company on September 2, 1996 as General Manager Sales and Marketing – Pacific Region, based in Sydney.

“Michael interviewed me and hired me in Singapore from a previous regional marketing role with Shangri-la. The fact that I have reported to Michael continuously since that time I believe says a lot about our company in the region. I don’t know of another hotel company where this is true,” said Stone.

“Prior to Michael, of course, David Baffsky had been instrumental in building Accor Hospitality in the region and creating much of the regional culture.

“This sense of continuity in Accor’s senior management team in the Asia-Pacific does not stop with my role or with that of our Chairman and COO. I have worked with our Chief Financial Officer for the region, Kim Mooney, during that entire period as well as Graham Wilson our current VP Marketing. I could say the same of many other senior executives in the region.

“This has meant a tightly-knit team approach to business issues built on mutual trust and respect. It has also resulted in strong friendships. I believe this has been a major factor in our extraordinary growth and business success in the region, often during the most challenging times.”

He said that without question, his years with Accor has been among the very best of his almost four decades in the hotel industry.

“My career has been equally divided between three broad regions – Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific Region. I consider it a blessing that my time in this region with Accor has coincided with this phase of my life.

“I was born in the month of June in 1941 – a Gemini in the Year of the Snake…..hmmmm.

“I have had a wonderful run and it’s not over yet. During the course of the next year, in addition to my new role with Accor, my wife and I will spend more time with our family (our three children are also equally divided between those same regions).

“t will also present an opportunity to establish the right lifestyle mix for ourselves for the future which I would plan to include continued involvement in this wonderful industry.”