Kalahari Resorts and Convention Centers has named William Otto executive vice president. The longtime Marcus Hotels president will lead all operations for the Nelson family businesses in Wisconsin Dells, Sandusky, Ohio and Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.
“We are extremely excited to welcome such a well-respected and highly recognized leader, like Bill Otto, to the Kalahari Resorts family,” said Todd Nelson, owner of Kalahari Resorts. “Bill brings an unparalleled ability to translate big-picture visions into every detail of operations, which will be crucial to Kalahari as we continue to grow our brand and prepare to introduce our unique, ‘beyond expectations’ experience to the east coast in 2015.”
Otto will also manage the Kalahari development company’s operations, with an aim at targeting new properties for Kalahari management to expand the company’s profile.
He has more than 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently as a consultant for several high-profile Wisconsin hospitality and higher education projects, including for the University Club of Milwaukee.
Otto served as senior vice president, operations and chief operating officer at Marcus Corp. from 1993 to April 2011, when he became president of Marcus Hotels. He resigned from that position in November 2011.
He holds a bachelor’s in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a certified hotel administrator designation from the American Hotel and Motel Association.
