Key leadership roles responsible for accelerating growth across the region
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has announced two new senior appointments in Europe.
Mario Maxeiner (pictured) has been appointed as Managing Director Northern Europe, based in the company's recently opened Frankfurt office and Eric Viale takes up the role of Managing Director Southern Europe, based in IHG's Paris office.
Maxeiner will be responsible for driving the sustainable and long term growth of IHG and the performance of its franchised hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Scandinavia and Poland. Viale will be responsible for driving commercial and operations performance across the Southern Europe franchised hotel estate, including key markets such as France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Both roles report to IHG Managing Director Europe, Karin Sheppard.
Currently IHG's Vice President Commercial in Greater China, Mario Maxeiner joined IHG in 2015, bringing over 20 years of commercial experience in the hospitality industry, including 17 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts in regional and global roles. For the past two years, he has led strategic initiatives to drive commercial performance and grow IHG market share in China.
Eric Viale was previously the Area General Manager for Portugal and brings a wealth of experience to this new role from his 23 years in the hotel business. Over the last 15 years, he has worked in a multitude of positions within IHG, spanning commercial and operations leadership roles both in corporate offices and hotels.
The new leadership roles will be responsible for driving accelerated growth across the franchised estate in Europe as IHG continues to strengthen and grow its existing brand portfolio through design and product development.
Recent initiatives include the continued roll-out of the innovative Holiday Inn Open Lobby concept as well as exciting new room designs for Holiday Inn Express, new Crowne Plaza® work-life room designs and the Plaza Workspace, a technology-enabled public space designed for solo work as well as small group meetings.
IHG is also adding new brands to its portfolio, including in the high-value luxury and upscale segments with the expansion of its luxury boutique brand, Kimpton® in key cities across Europe, and the launch of its new upscale brand, voco.
Karin Sheppard, Managing Director Europe, commented, 'IHG is building momentum across Europe through the development of our existing portfolio as well as the launch of exciting new brands. Mario and Eric have deep experience of the northern and southern Europe hotel markets and their leadership will play a key role in strengthening IHG's presence and accelerating our growth in the region.'
