Summit Hotel Names New CFO and COO

Mike Nieves joins as EVP and CFO while Adam Wudel is promoted to EVP and COO at the Austin-based hotel REIT.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Corporate Finance

Summit Hotel Properties has appointed Mike Nieves as EVP and CFO and promoted Adam Wudel to EVP and COO. The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, announced the changes in a press statement.

Why it matters

The moves place a finance executive with hotel real estate, lodging investment banking and gaming treasury experience in the top financial role. Promoting an internal leader with 18 years at the company to COO signals continuity in day-to-day operations.

The announcement is a personnel disclosure rather than a market data release, and the only quantified detail is Wudel's 18-year tenure with the company. The filing does not specify compensation terms or effective dates beyond the announcement.

The players

Summit Hotel Properties

Summit Hotel Properties is an Austin, Texas-based hotel real estate investment trust that owns and operates select-service hotels.

Mike Nieves

Mike Nieves is a finance executive whose career spans gaming company treasury, hotel real estate investment banking, and corporate law.

Adam Wudel

Adam Wudel is a long-serving Summit Hotel Properties executive who previously led the company's corporate development function.

The details

Mike Nieves assumed the EVP and CFO role at Summit Hotel Properties. Before joining, he was SVP of finance and treasurer at PENN Entertainment, a director in JLL's M&A and Corporate Advisory group, and a vice president in Citigroup's Real Estate and Lodging Investment Banking Group, after earlier work as a corporate lawyer at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Adam Wudel, who most recently served as EVP of corporate development, was promoted to EVP and COO.

November 2, 2026: Summit Hotel Properties announced the CFO appointment and COO promotion.

Market Dynamics

Lodging REITs have increasingly recruited CFOs from lodging investment banking and capital markets backgrounds, and Nieves's Citigroup and JLL experience fits that pattern. Summit's choice reflects a preference for finance leaders who understand hotel transactions as well as public-company reporting.

For shareholders, the appointments do not change dividends, share count, or reported results on their own, but they affect who sets financial strategy and capital allocation. Investors tracking Summit can watch upcoming earnings calls and filings for how the new CFO approaches financing and acquisitions.

The takeaway

Leadership changes at public companies often signal shifts in financial priorities before they appear in reported numbers. Readers following Summit Hotel Properties can track its next quarterly filings to see whether capital allocation changes under the new finance team.