The 20-Year Starwood-Marriott veteran was being billed as the successor of Sanjay Sharma, the outgoing Market Vice President for India, Nepal and Bhutan

Close on the heels of the announcement by Sanjay Sharma, Marriott International veteran and Market Vice President for North India, Nepal and Bhutan, that he was taking voluntary retirement, the man being billed as his successor, Anuraag Bhatnagar, Multi Property Vice President, Mumbai and Goa, has been appointed Chef Operating Officer of The Leela Group,

The Leela Group was recently acquired by Brookfield Properties, the Canadian real estate services company that manages assets worth $500 billion. Bhatnagar, according to sources in The Leela Group, will report to the Brookefield CEO.

It is believed that The Leela's long-time President, the suave and well-spoken Rajiv Kaul, will continue in his present position. Kaul has seen the best and the worst of times at The Leela, but his masterstroke was negotiating the Brookefield acquisition, which bailed out The Leela Group from the financial mess it found itself in after The Leela Palace opened in New Delhi.

Educated at St Joseph's Convent, Faridabad, and IHM-Pusa (Class of 1986), Bhatnagar joined Starwood in 2000, when he was appointed F&B Director of Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai. In 2016, he was named General Manager of the Year by Marriott APAC out of a field of 570 general managers in the Asia-Pacific region. Today, Bhatnagar's portfolio extends to 12 hotels, across multiple brands, in Mumbai and Goa, including the prestigious St Regis, Mumbai, and W Goa.