MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, announced the appointment of David Berg as chief operating officer for Carlson. He will report directly to Trudy Rautio, president and chief executive officer, Carlson.
“David brings to Carlson a broad set of leadership capabilities including growing businesses and leading organizations through strategic change to deliver results and build long-term shareholder value,” explained Rautio.
Berg will be responsible for leading and managing the global hotel business and have the global hotel team reporting directly to him. He will also participate in other strategic initiatives for the company, including working with key leaders to develop and implement their strategic initiatives for growth.
Most recently, Berg served as CEO and chief customer service officer for the fastest growing reseller of Verizon services. Previously, he worked as executive vice president and president of Outback Steakhouse International, with full P&L responsibility for over 200 restaurants in 20 countries generating international system-wide revenues of over $700 million. David also revamped franchise growth and support strategies in order to grow the total portfolio of multi-concept restaurants, which included more than 1,400 locations worldwide.
Additionally, Berg served as COO of GNC with 7,200 retail locations around the world and revenues of $1.8 billion. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Best Buy International, leading the $13 billion international division for the global retailer.
