On the same day Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced the promotion of Matthew Avril to president of Starwood’s Hotel Group, Wyndham Worldwide announced the departure of Wyndham Hotel Group CEO and President Steven A. Rudnitsky.

Rudnitsky, who joined Wyndham in 2002 after years as an executive with Kraft Foodservice and Nabisco, is leaving to pursue other interests, according to a release from Wyndham. Rudnitsky is expected to receive approximately $2.2 million in cash severance as outlined in Wyndham’s SEC filing yesterday.

“Steve’s leadership transformed our lodging business from a pure domestic franchise company into a major global franchise and management company through the acquisition of world-class brands, acceleration of international hotel development and the strengthening of our core domestic operations,” says Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide. I thank him for this many valuable contributions. As we search for his successor, we will be looking for a new leader who can build on this solid and stable business platform.”

Under Rudnitsky’s leadership, Wyndham acquired the Baymont brand in 2006, the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts brand in 2005 and the global portfolio of Ramada International in 2004.

Under Starwood’s restructuring, Avril, the co-president of Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), will replace Matt Ouimet, who is leaving the company. No reasons were given for his departure.

Sergio Rivera, who had been co-heading SVO and is also president and managing director of Starwood’s real estate development, will become the CEO of the vacation ownership group. Avril, 47, will relocate to Starwood’s headquarters in White Plains, NY and oversee hotel operations worldwide for the company’s nine brands and roughly 900 properties. He has 22 years of industry experience, 16 of those at Starwood and Vistana, a vacation ownership company now part of SVO.

"I continue to be impressed with the talent we have within this organization driving the growth of our brands and global footprint,” said Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “As discussed on our last earnings call, in light of current economic conditions and as a result of our organic growth over the years, we are also working to streamline our organization, reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure we are properly structured for long-term growth. (The) management changes will streamline our senior leadership team, enable us to operate more efficiently, better serve our divisions and continue to maintain the level of service our customers expect from our global portfolio of brands.

"On behalf of the board and senior leadership team, I would also like to thank Matt Ouimet for his contributions to Starwood over the past two years. We wish him well in his future endeavors."