Chris Penn
Chief Executive Officer
Acer Hotel
Chris Penn is the Chief Executive Officer of Ace Hotel, overseeing all facets of the business and responsible for driving growth and commercial success. He was appointed in January 2025, following a
25 year career in founding, developing and operating lifestyle hospitality enterprises. London-based Penn was Managing Director of Ace Hotel London in 2013 when it opened, and successfully drove financial success for the asset while helping usher in a wave of business and cultural transformation in the Shoreditch neighbourhood. He founded the UK-based lifestyle brand Birch in 2020 (The Times and Sunday Times’ Hotel Of The Year 2020), and throughout his career has also consulted on a diverse range of hospitality experiences including longer-stay accommodations, eco tourism and urban lifestyle hotels.
Chris is an accomplished endurance athlete in his spare time and is one of just 2,000 people in history to have swum the English Channel solo.