Maria T. Razumich-Zec

Maria Razumich-Zec is Regional Executive Vice President, USA and Managing Director, The Peninsula Chicago since May 2007. She oversees hotel operations for The Peninsula Hotels located in Chicago, New York and The Quail in Carmel, California. Razumich-Zec is also a member of the Group Management Board, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH), the organization’s management and operations decision-making authority.

Razumich-Zec joined The Peninsula Chicago in March 2002, shortly after the opening of the 339-room property, located at 108 East Superior Street at North Michigan Avenue. Under her leadership, The Peninsula Chicago achieved the Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond awards within her first year as General Manager for the property. The hotel has continued to receive these coveted awards and many others since 2002. Most recently, The Peninsula Chicago was named the #2 Hotel in the World by LaListe, #1 Hotel in the U.S. by US News & World Report, and #1 Hotel in US & Canada by Travel + Leisure. Additionally, the hotel was named #2 Hotel in the World by Zagat, and Top Hotel in the U.S. by Zagat for five consecutive years. Other achievements are #1 Hotel in the US by Conde Nast Traveler, #1 Luxury Hotel in the US by Trip Advisor, and #1 Hotel for the Holidays in Chicago by USA Today.

HOTELS magazine named Razumich-Zec ‘Independent Hotelier of the World’ in November 2022. Leaders magazine named Razumich-Zec one of the ‘Top 10 Hoteliers’ and inducted her into the ‘Hotelier’s Hall of Achievement’, and she was named ‘Hotelier of the Year’ for 2004 for the State of Illinois by the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association.

During her tenure thus far, she oversaw The Peninsula Chicago’s comprehensive 339-guestroom renovation in 2016 in addition to the conversion of two outlets to meeting rooms, as well as the renovation of the restaurants and The Spa. In 2013, she led the business plan to re-open The Quail and renovate the guestrooms and golf course of the 93-room property. In addition, Razumich-Zec oversaw The Peninsula New York’s full renovation of the hotel’s guestrooms, hotel lobby and rooftop bar in 2024.

During the hotel’s 10th anniversary in 2011, an idea emerged to build a rooftop bar on top of the hotel’s Grand Ballroom which opened in 2018. The name “Z Bar” is inspired by the leadership of the company’s first female general manager, Maria Zec. The HSH Board of Directors have honored a few select Peninsula leaders who have significantly contributed to the company by naming a limited number of restaurants and bars after them.

Prior to joining The Peninsula Chicago, starting in 1994, she served as Managing Director and Hotel Manager for four years respectively at The New York Palace Hotel. Previously, Razumich-Zec held the position of Resident Manager at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Her earlier career spanned the Chicago and New York markets and included appointments at The Chicago Hilton and Towers, The Waldorf Astoria in New York and The Hilton at Short Hills, NJ.

Razumich-Zec’s hotel experience throughout the United States makes her particularly valuable to manage operations in New York and Chicago, having worked at luxury hotels in both cities and understanding the markets, communities, and hospitality industries well. She also possesses considerable knowledge and expertise of five-star culture and what it represents to the hotel’s customers. Razumich-Zec is widely known for mentoring and developing both staff and managers. In fact, four of the 12 current general managers at The Peninsula Hotels worked directly for Maria Zec just prior to being named to lead a hotel. In her career, Zec has mentored many managers who are now general managers at top hotels throughout the world.

Razumich-Zec’s experience as a leader and mentor in the hospitality industry has proven to be an asset to her numerous charitable and philanthropic affiliations. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Magnificent Mile Association, Illinois Hotel Lodging Association, and the Board of Trustees for the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theatre for Music and Dance. She served on Choose Chicago’s Board of Directors from 2017 to 2023. She is a member of The Executives’ Club of Chicago and a member of The Chicago Network, the premier organization of Chicagoland’s most influential women leaders.

A native of Chicago, Razumich-Zec holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, with a major in Business Management with a focus on Marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. She and her husband live in Chicago.