DALLAS, Texas – Accor North America (ANA), one of the largest hotel chain owner and operators in North America, announces changes to its leadership structure. Olivier Poirot, CEO of Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio6, will assume responsibility for the Novotel network in Canada and for Accor operations in Mexico, in addition to continuing his leadership of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S. and Canada and providing support of Sofitel operations in North America. Poirot has also been appointed a member of Accor’s Worldwide Management Committee.

Poirot’s additional responsibilities will follow the departure of Michael Flaxman in June 2011 as COO of Accor Americas. Flaxman leaves Accor after 27 years of dedicated service to the company around the globe. He joined Accor in 1983, and has since held a variety of operations, development and distribution roles in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Poirot assumes his expanded role following a three-year business transformation initiative that he led within the Motel 6 network, aimed at refocusing on the company’s core North American activity. The initiative resulted in three full points of market share increase for the brand and a reclaimed position as the undisputed leader in the economy lodging segment. Under his tenure, the network grew by more than 150 locations, primarily through franchise growth, reaching 1,100 locations for Motel 6/Studio 6 by the end of 2010. Under his leadership, Motel 6 introduced the contemporary, award-winning “Phoenix” prototype that will take the Motel 6 brand through the next decade.

About Accor North America
Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,100 upscale and economy properties including nationwide economy leaders Motel 6, Studio 6, Ibis, Sofitel Luxury Hotels and upscale Novotel locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit accor-na.com.

About Accor
Accor, the world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is present in 90 countries with 4,200 hotels and more than 500,000 rooms.
Accor's broad portfolio of hotel brands - Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, hotelF1 and Motel 6, and its related activities, Thalassa sea & spa and Lenôtre - provide an extensive offer from luxury to budget. With 145,000 employees worldwide, the Group offers to its clients and partners nearly 45 years of know-how and expertise.