SHANGHAI, July 10 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs) ) today announces two internal executive appointments - Peter Gowers as Chief Executive, Asia Pacific region and Kirk Kinsell as President, Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA).
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Peter Gowers is currently Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and will remain on the executive committee of IHG. His new appointment will take effect 1 November 2007. He succeeds Tony South, Acting Chief Executive for Asia Pacific, who will resume his responsibilities as Senior Vice President, Development for the region at that time.
Kirk Kinsell is currently Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer for the Americas region, and will join the executive committee on his appointment. His appointment is effective 1 September 2007 when he will succeed outgoing President and Board member Richard Hartman who formally retires from IHG at the end of September.
Andrew Cosslett, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group, said, "I am delighted to be able to make these two key appointments from within the company. This says a great deal about the strength and depth of management we have at IHG.
"Both Peter and Kirk have been hugely influential in the development of IHG, building our brands, developing stronger relationships with our owners and driving up our rate of growth.
"Peter has been responsible for raising the quality of our brand management, most clearly seen in the recent, highly successful evolution of the InterContinental brand. He has overseen the development of Priority Club Rewards into the industry's largest loyalty scheme with over 33 million members, and built up the power of IHG's websites and reservation systems.
"Kirk has been at the heart of the resurgence of our Americas region in recent years. He has driven up our deal pace and taken the Americas hotel development pipeline to record levels. His extensive experience both inside and outside the hospitality industry, combined with his commercial acumen and drive for results, made him the right choice to take our EMEA business up to the next level."
In his 20-year hospitality career Kinsell has held a variety of senior positions in the hospitality industry including time with Holiday Inn Corporation and ITT Sheraton. From 1998 he spent four years outside the industry in COO and CEO roles, before re-joining IHG in 2002 as Senior Vice President, development, the Americas.
Aged 52, Kinsell holds a B.A in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of Professional Studies from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. He is married with two children.
Gowers started his career as a management consultant with Arthur D. Little, which included an Asia-based assignment in Singapore. He joined IHG - then Bass - in a strategic planning role in 1999 and was promoted to Executive Vice President, Strategy for the hotels business in 2002.
In 2003 he became Executive Vice President of Global Brand Services for IHG and was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in 2005. Aged 34, Peter is a graduate of Oxford University with a B.A in Jurisprudence (Law). He is married with two children.
Appointments to the vacated internal posts will be made in due course.
Notes to Editors
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) of the United Kingdom (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 3,700 hotels and more than 558,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. IHG owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R) and Hotel Indigo(R), and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club(R) Rewards with over 33 million members worldwide.
The company pioneered the travel industry's first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The IHEI formed the foundations of the Tourism Partnership launched by the International Business Leaders Forum in 2004, of which IHG is still a member today. The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG's global corporate responsibility focus.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at http://www.priorityclub.com .
For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at http://www.ihg.com/media .
