IHG welcomes Julienne Smith as Senior Vice President, Development in the Americas region
Denham, United Kingdom, 2019-Aug-20 — /Travel PR News/ — IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has appointed Julienne Smith as Senior Vice President, Development in the Americas region.
In this role, Smith will lead a team responsible for increasing IHG’s presence in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean for new-builds and conversions to the Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo® and EVEN® Hotels brands. She will also lead the Transactions & Asset Management team, which is focused on growing and enhancing IHG’s relationship with owners and their hotels.
Through direct and focused engagement with current and potential IHG owners, Smith and her team will drive new management and franchise agreements, as well as the renewal of existing agreements, to enhance value for owners and achieve IHG’s distribution and system size goals. She is based at IHG’s Americas headquarters in Atlanta.
Joel Eisemann, Chief Development Officer, Americas, said: “During her years in the industry, Julienne has built strong relationships based on establishing trust and delivering successful results. We are extremely pleased to welcome her to IHG. Julienne’s demonstrated performance leading a hotel development team will be a tremendous asset to our company.”
Julienne Smith commented: “I am excited to join IHG, where there is such a strong opportunity for growth across the company’s entire brand portfolio. I am looking forward to being part of a team of dynamic leaders who are committed to working with passionate and dedicated owners.”
Smith brings more than 17 years of development experience to IHG, previously serving in leadership roles at Hyatt Hotels Corporation after starting her career at Marriott International. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President, Development and Owner Relations at Hyatt, where she primarily oversaw the growth of Hyatt’s select service hotel brands and grew the company’s footprint through franchise and management contracts.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and is active with several industry organizations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA)’s Women in Lodging, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Smith also sits on the board of Chicago-based nonprofit organization Kaleidoscope.
About IHG®
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton®Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®,Holiday Inn Resort®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,400 hotels and 800,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 375,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices globally.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
For further information please contact:
Ada Hatzios
ada.hatzios@ihg.com
+1 (770) 604 8564
Source: IHG
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