Nov. 18--Steven Rudnitsky, who oversaw the rebuilding of Wyndham hotels after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the chain's growth after its spinoff from Cendant Corp., will be named today as president and chief executive of Dolce Hotels and Resorts, a Montvale-based hospitality company.

The appointment is effective Dec. 8.

Rudnitsky, who stepped down as president and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide's Hotel Group on Sept. 30, will be responsible for driving Dolce's growth worldwide.

He will serve on the Dolce board and report to Chairman Andy Dolce.

Dolce, which changed its name from Dolce International earlier this year, manages 23 hotels, resorts and meetings centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. The company announced plans earlier this year to double its portfolio over the next five years.

The expansion will be underwritten by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Broadreach Capital Partners, which purchased a majority stake in Dolce last year, and other capital partners.

A Norwood resident, Rudnitsky spent 6 1/2 years as president and chief executive of Wyndham Hotel Group, a business unit of Parsippany-based Wyndham Worldwide Corp. Wyndham Worldwide was spun off from Cendant as a public company in 2006.

During his tenure at Wyndham, Rudnitsky introduced one of the travel industry's largest loyalty programs, acquired four brands and negotiated domestic and international management contracts as well as joint-venture agreements for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

In a statement, Rudnitsky said his decision to move from a publicly traded company to the private, equity-backed entrepreneurial Dolce was influenced by his desire to tackle a new challenge.

In his 30-year career, Rudnitsky held leadership positions at several Fortune 500 companies including Kraft, Nabisco, Pillsbury, PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson.

Dolce's portfolio includes the IBM Palisades Center in Palisades, N.Y.; American Airlines Training & Conference Center in Fort Worth, Texas; and The William Bolger Center in Potomac, Md.

It has 4,000 employees.

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