24 September 2008
IHG Appoints Christian Hempell to Newly Created Position of Vice President, Holiday Inn Club Vacations
ATLANTA (Sept. 24, 2008) - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, has appointed Christian Hempell to the newly created role of vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, where he will lead the new Holiday Inn timeshare brand, effective immediately.
Hempell is responsible for the overall strategy, business development, marketing operations and performance of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations portfolio within the Americas. This new brand has been created through a strategic alliance with Orange Lake Resorts and the family of Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn. He will oversee the launch of this new brand in North America and will work through the strategic alliance to drive growth in key resort destinations. Hempell will continue his role as a member of the Americas Operating Committee, working with interim region president Richard Solomons and his senior executive team.
"In his five years with IHG, Christian has been a key player in providing insight and leadership in developing our global and regional growth strategy," said Solomons. "He has been instrumental in developing our timeshare concept and is the ideal candidate to lead the charge for this exciting new addition to the Holiday Inn brand family."
Most recently, Hempell served as vice president, Strategy, the Americas, where he created and established the strategic management process to drive revenue and profit growth in the region. He joined IHG in 2003 as vice president, Global Strategy, based in the U.K. where he was responsible for leading IHG's global strategy function.
Prior to joining IHG, Hempell spent six years with Andersen's hospitality and leisure consulting group, serving global travel clients in the hotel and resort, cruise line and tour operator areas. He earned a BS degree from the Hotel School at Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
He will be succeeded by Heather Balsley, who has been promoted to vice president, Strategy, the Americas, and will join the Americas Operating Committee, effective immediately. Balsley joined IHG in 2007 as director, Strategy, the Americas, after spending seven years with Marakon Associates, nearly a year of which was spent as a consultant on several IHG projects. She earned a BA degree from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Media Contact:
Caroline Sanfilippo, IHG, [email protected], (770) 604-2495
Notes to Editors:
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,000 hotels and more than 590,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with over 39 million members worldwide.
IHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 150,000 jobs 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 www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media