ROCKVILLE, MD; Jan. 16, 2019 — Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s largest hotel franchisors, announced Jason Simpson has joined the company as vice president of engineering.

In this role, Simpson will lead the company’s corporate IT organization to support its ongoing business functions, including corporate operations, global sales, franchise services, finance and legal.

“Jason is a transformative and hands-on leader bringing years of experience in this space, making him the ideal person to head our dynamic corporate technology organization,” said Brian Kirkland, chief technology officer, Choice Hotels. “I look forward to working with him and the rest of our team to take our technology strategy to the next level.”

Simpson joins Choice Hotels with more than 25 years of industry experience. He has held key leadership positions at companies, such as GoDaddy Inc., was the chief technology officer for the state of Arizona, and most recently, led the engineering team at a Phoenix-based startup to develop API-based digital commerce experiences.

Simpson earned his bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering and master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University. He currently serves as a board member of the Arizona Cyber Team Technology Futures Group and has previously held advisory roles for Amazon Web Services and the Arizona Department of Education.