13
June 2011 - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) [LON:IHG,
NYSE:IHG (ADRs)]
announces that Mr Kirk Kinsell is appointed President, the Americas,
succeeding
current President and Executive Director Mr Jim Abrahamson who is
leaving the
Group to take up the role of CEO of an independent US lodging company.
Mr Kirk Kinsell, a member of the senior leadership team of IHG since
2002, an
Executive Board member since 2010 and currently President, Europe,
Middle East
and Africa (EMEA), will assume his new responsibilities with immediate
effect,
reporting to incoming Chief Executive, Richard Solomons.
Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, currently CFO of the EMEA region and Head of
Development for Europe will take over from Kirk on an interim basis
pending the
appointment of a long term successor.
Richard Solomons, incoming Chief Executive and currently CFO and Head
of
Commercial Development of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, said:
“We thank Jim for his substantial contribution since joining IHG and
wish him
every success with his future career. It is testament to our
strong
management capability and succession planning that we are able to
appoint a
highly respected executive to succeed him. Having held a number of
senior
leadership roles in the Americas region before taking up his current
position
in EMEA, Kirk knows the region, the team, the owner community and the
business
inside out. He has done an outstanding job leading our EMEA region and
I look
forward to him continuing this success in the Americas.
In Paul we have an experienced executive who will take over the reins
on an
interim basis. He knows the business extremely well and will ensure
continuity
as we continue to build momentum across the EMEA region.”
Kirk Kinsell, President Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:
“Having spent five years heading the Americas development team before
taking up
my current role and over seven years leading the Holiday Inn franchise
business
in the US, I am looking forward to working with the team, taking the
region to
the next stage.”
Kirk
Kinsell Biography
A member of the IHG Board and Executive Committee, Kirk is President,
Europe,
Middle East and Africa. In his role, he has responsibility for 700
hotels,
consisting of over 121,000 rooms and operating under six IHG brands as
franchised, managed and owned properties.
Before taking up this position on 1 September 2007, he was Senior Vice
President and Chief Development Officer for IHG in the Americas,
responsible
for unit growth across all brands and franchise, management contracts
and real
estate development activities sponsored on behalf of the company. In
2003, Kirk
co-led the launch of Hotel Indigo.
In 1995 and 1996, Kirk served as President of the Franchise Division at
ITT
Sheraton, where he led the creation of the Four Points Hotels concept.
In 1997, Kirk became President and COO of Avado Brands Inc., which
during his
tenure operated more than 220 high-growth branded restaurants. More
recently,
Kirk served as President and CEO of Micell Technologies Inc. Under
Kirk's
leadership, Micell Technologies was recognised as the 2001
Entrepreneurial
Company of the Year for North Carolina.
From 1988 to 1995 Kirk served as Senior Vice President of Franchise for
Holiday
Inn Worldwide, a predecessor of InterContinental Hotels Group. In that
capacity
he led the launch of Holiday Inn Express.
Kirk, 56, holds a Master's of Professional Studies degree from the
School of
Hotel Administration, Cornell University, and a Bachelor's Degree in
Economics
from the University of California, San Diego. Additionally, he
completed the
Senior Executive Programme at London Business School.
About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a
global
company operating seven well-known hotel brands including
InterContinental®
Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels &
Resorts,
Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®,
Staybridge Suites® and
Candlewood Suites®. IHG also manages Priority Club®
Rewards, the world’s
first and largest hotel loyalty programme with 58 million members
worldwide.
IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms and IHG
franchises,
leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, a portfolio of
over
4,400 hotels and more than 652,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and
territories
around the world.
IHG has more than 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline and expects
to
recruit around 160,000 people worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is
incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands
at http://www.ihg.com and
information for
the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For our
latest news
visit www.ihg.com/media,
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