21 January 2020

IHG® Announces Two Senior Marketing Appointments

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Heather Balsley named Senior Vice President, Global Loyalty & Partnerships (Left) and

Jennifer Gribble, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Mainstream Brands (Right)

 

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announces the appointment of two senior marketing executives, naming Heather Balsley, Senior Vice President, Global Loyalty & Partnerships and Jennifer Gribble, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Mainstream Brands.

 

As a nearly 13-year veteran of IHG, Balsley now leads the Loyalty & Partnerships team where she will shape the strategic direction moving forward, applying her extensive industry knowledge and track record of innovation and global scale delivery in her new role. She will be accountable for IHG® Rewards Club, IHG’s award-winning global loyalty program that spans 16 hotel brands, and strategic partnerships that help deliver a differentiated guest experience and enhanced revenues. Balsley will work with her team to build an even stronger, industry-leading program that offers incredible experiences to members, including global concert selections and attendance at top sporting events, like the US Open.

 

Previously, Balsley served as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Mainstream Brands where she was responsible for developing and delivering brand strategies that enhance the guest experience and drive sustainable brand performance. Since joining IHG in 2007, she has held leadership roles across the Americas region including strategy and brands and marketing.

 

Succeeding Balsley as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Mainstream Brands, Gribble will be responsible for global performance of some of the industry’s most iconic and loved brands including Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Express®, Candlewood Suites®, Staybridge Suites® and EVEN Hotels® and two of the company’s newest brands, avid® hotels and Atwell Suites™. She will lead development and delivery of overall brand performance, brand design and experience, food and beverage and the effective launch of new brands across IHG’s mainstream portfolio.

 

In her over 16-year tenure at IHG, Gribble previously served as Vice President, Holiday Inn Express, avid hotels and Atwell Suites, where she led significant improvements to the Holiday Inn Express brand and worked alongside Heather Balsley to launch avid hotels and Atwell Suites.  She also served in Crowne Plaza brand management and portfolio-wide marketing services roles in the Americas region.

 

Claire Bennett, Global Chief Marketing Officer, IHG, commented: “Heather and Jennifer’s appointments are critical to IHG’s growth as we enhance our award-winning loyalty proposition and our powerhouse mainstream brand portfolio. Heather brings a strong strategic focus and passion to her new role in loyalty and partnerships and Jennifer has incredible knowledge of guest insights and owner economics to drive growth and return for our stakeholders.”

 

Both Balsley and Gribble are based at IHG’s Americas headquarters in Atlanta and report to Claire Bennett, Global Chief Marketing Officer.

 

Ends

For further information please contact:

Neil Hirsch
[email protected]
+1 (770) 604 5775

About IHG®

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN Hotels®, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, voco™, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites®Atwell Suites and Candlewood Suites®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,800 hotels and approximately 865,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 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. Approximately 400,000 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: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/news-and-media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihgcorporate, www.facebook.com/ihgcorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group