Frits D. van Paasschen (born 24 March 1961, The Netherlands) is the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Starwood and formerly an executive with

Coors Brewing Company The Coors Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company based in Golden, Colorado, that was founded in 1873. In 2005, Adolph Coors Company, the holding company that owned Coors Brewing, merged with Molson, Inc. to become Molson Coor ...

Early life and education

Van Paasschen was born on 24 March 1961, the son of two doctors. He attended Mercer Island High School near Seattle and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Biology from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in Massachusetts and MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Van Paasschen served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood from September 2007 until February 2015. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of

from March 29, 2005 to August 31, 2007. Previously, he served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa of

Nike Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, ...

from 2000 to 2004. van Paasschen served as vice president and general manager of Canada, Latin America and Africa of

from 1998 to 2000 and served as its Vice President of Global Strategic Planning from 1998. Earlier in his career, and beginning in 1983, he served in various management positions with

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the "Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three" (or MBB, the world's three large ...

, First Call Corporation, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

. He also worked briefly at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Corporate Boards

* Vice President of Finance & Planning of

Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and I ...

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in 1995. * Independent Director of Oakley, Inc. from September 2005 to November 2007. * Director of The Jones Group Inc. starting on November 30, 2006. * Board of Starwood starting on September 24, 2007. * Non-Executive Director of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

starting on August 1, 2013. * Director of

Williams-Sonoma Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Chuck Williams (author), Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settle ...

, 2017 to current. Member of the Compensation Committee and Nominations, Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committees. * Director and Board Chair of Convene, 2018 to current.

Personal life

Van Paasschen is married and has three children. He is a dual citizen of the Netherlands and the United States.

References

External links

Frits Van Paasschen Keynote Speaking Bio

Official website
1961 births Living people American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies Dutch chief executives Harvard Business School alumni Amherst College alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty Mercer Island High School alumni Goldman Sachs people {{US-CEO-stub