Red Lion CEO pushed out

Red Lion Hotels has forced out its president and CEO after the board decided it wants a leader who will expand the company at a faster pace, according to the company's chief financial officer.

The Spokane company, which operates 45 hotels in eight states and Canada, said in a regulatory filing that Anupam Narayan was "terminated" Wednesday. Narayan became president and CEO in February 2008 and previously had been Red Lion's chief investment officer and chief financial officer since 2005.

The board wanted "a different pace and intensity to some of the business plans we have," said chief financial officer Tony Dombrowik in an interview.

Asked about Narayan's sudden dismissal, he said, "There isn't anything unusual, there isn't any fraud or anything."

Narayan will be replaced on an interim basis by Jon Eliassen, who retired in 2003 from Spokane utility Avista after 16 years as its chief financial officer and senior vice president. There's no timeline for selecting a permanent president and CEO, said Dombrowik.

Red Lion, formerly called West Coast Hotels, operates 8,910 rooms in hotels from Washington to California and Colorado.

Dombrowik said Eliassen's mandate is "growing the footprint of the Red Lion brand" as the hotel industry recovers and the company's margins improve.