Oyo, the hospitality chain has appointed Troy Alstead, former Starbucks chief operating officer, as an independent board member of the company. Post the appointment, he will be joining Munish Varma, Bejul Somaia, Aditya Ghosh, Betsy Atkins and Mohit Bhatnagar on the company’s board.

“Troy brings tremendous operating and governance experience that will help us continue delivering on our mission to help millions of middle-income people around the world gain access to quality accommodations at different price points,” said Ritesh Agarwal, Oyo’s founder and Group CEO, in a statement.

Prior to joining Oyo, Alstead served many positions at Starbucks for above 24 years until he left in February 2016. Currently, he is one of the founders, president, and CEO of Washington based Ocean5 and Table 47. Besides, he also sits on the board of Topgolf Group and Harley Davidson.

The latest appointment for Oyo comes at a time when the Indian travel and hospitality sectors have been hit hard due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Gurugram-based company had recently disclosed that a certain number of its employees in India will be choosing for voluntary leave with limited benefits from 4th May along with a 20 per cent pay cut for its employees. 

While Agarwal has foregone his salary for one year, the top management too has voluntarily taken salary cuts. 

As per the latest media reports, Oyo is also planning to offload more properties around the world. While the company does not plan to entirely exit any market, it will either terminate or not renew contracts with loss-making hotels, the reported stated.