InterContinental Hotels Group today announces the appointment of Lara Hernandez to the role of Chief Commercial Officer in the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region.
Lara is responsible for the performance of IHG’s brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Hotel Indigo Ð a total of 271 hotels (more than 73,000 rooms) in nearly 40 countries across the region.
A member of the regional leadership team, Lara leads a team of 120 professionals, and oversees key commercial functions including Brand Management, Loyalty, Sales, Marketing, Distribution Channels and Revenue Management from IHG’s regional head office in Singapore.
Prior to her appointment Lara, in her role as Vice President, Sales & Distribution for IHG in the AMEA region, was responsible for enhancing IHG’s global distribution scale, web and digital capabilities, while growing sales in the region.
Lara joins us with over 20 years of experience in leadership roles across marketing, sales, business development and operations in the hotel industry and commands a comprehensive understanding of the digital landscape, loyalty programs, consumer marketing and B2B direct sales.
Earlier roles Lara has held with IHG in the Americas include Vice President of Digital, Loyalty & Partner Marketing; Director of Business Development & Hotel Integration for IHG Distribution Marketing in the Americas; Director of Business Travel, Worldwide Sales; and Global Guest & Campaign Marketing, in addition to serving as Vice President of Distribution & Commercial Marketing.
IHG currently operates 271 hotels across six brands in AMEA, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites with a further 149 hotels in the development pipeline due to open within the next three to five years
