OYO is beefing up its board of directors – the second board appointment this year is a former FBI consultant

• OYO has brought on board Dr W. Steve Albrecht, an industry veteran for audit and corporate governance.
• The appointments to OYO’s board are another indicator of a possible IPO soon for the hotel chain.
• Albrecht also sits on the board of the US-based SkyWest Airlines, Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, and Deseret Mutual Benefit Association.

Indian hospitality unicorn OYO has announced the 8th addition to its board of directors. The company has brought on board Dr W. Steve Albrecht, an industry veteran for audit and corporate governance. Albrecht is the former president of the American Accounting Association.

Albrecht, also sits on the board of the US-based SkyWest Airlines, Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, and Deseret Mutual Benefit Association and was previously also on the board of the now IBM acquired Red Hat.

The industry veteran has also consulted and audited major financial institutions including the United Nations, FBI.

“Steve is an expert and a thought leader who will help us deliver on sustainable growth, operational and service excellence, and help us continue building a strong culture of corporate governance and accountability. As COVID-19 continues to impact the business and forces businesses to rethink its strategies, our board has also come together and has been constantly guiding us on business continuity and recovery measures,” said OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal on the appointment.

OYO BOARD MEMBERS


The appointments to OYO’s board and its renewed focus on profitability and corporate governance are another indicator of a possible IPO soon for the hotel chain.

However, OYO has immediate important business matters at hand. The hotel chain which was growing at a breakneck speed until December 2019, has hit the brakes with a series of consumer and hotelier complaints followed by a layoff of thousands of employees across the globe in January 2020. It then was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and saw a sharp drop in fortunes after the COVID-19 outbreak.

While OYO’s China and Japan divisions have seen growth in the past few weeks, its India business has just reopened on June 8.

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