James P. Evans

JAMES P. EVANS is Chief Executive Officer of Jenny Craig, Inc.
Throughout his more than 30 years in the hospitality industry, Mr. Evans
has consistently fostered strong leadership skills in his colleagues and
provided excellent customer service to his guests. His strong work ethic
and client-centric philosophy will serve him well in his role as Jenny
Craig’s Chief Executive Officer, a position he assumed in January 2003.
Prior to joining Jenny Craig, he was President and Chief Executive
Officer of Best Western International, Inc., the world’s largest hotel
chain with more than 4,000 independently owned and operated hotels and
motels in 80 countries. Mr. Evans accepted that senior staff position
after having held a series of increasingly responsible roles in the
hospitality industry, ranging from property level marketing, sales and
management positions to senior corporate staff positions. From 1996 to
1998, Mr. Evans served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the
Promus Hotel Corporation and Executive Vice President of Operations for
Doubletree Hotels Corporation. The previous 21 years were spent at the
Hyatt organization, where he rose from Director of Sales at the Hyatt
Regency in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Senior Vice President Of Sales
and Marketing for Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. While at Hyatt, he was named
General Manager of the Year and Sales Director of the Year. Mr. Evans
received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Eastern
Illinois University. During his career he has received numerous
accolades, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from Eastern
Illinois University and a Conti Professorship in Hotel Restaurant and
Institutional Management from Pennsylvania State University.
Additionally, Business Travel News named Mr. Evans one of the ’25 Most
Influential Executives in the Travel Industry’ in both 1991 and 2001.