Julienne Smith to Succeed Joel Eisemann as IHG's Chief Development Officer - Americas

(22 Mar 2022, 10:47 +07)  IHG has confirmed that Julienne Smith, currently Senior Vice President, Development – Luxury & Upscale, and Development & Owner Support, will succeed Joel Eisemann, Chief Development Officer - Americas, when he retires from the company in June.

Since Joel joined IHG in 2011 as Chief Development Officer, IHG's brand portfolio and estate in the Americas has grown from nearly 3,500 open hotels in 2011 to 4,300 open hotels and more than 900 hotels in the pipeline across the Americas region at the end of 2021.

Joel also led the expansion of IHG's franchised and managed brand portfolio in the Americas including the launches of avid hotels, Atwell Suites, voco Hotels, EVEN Hotels and most recently, Vignette Collection.

Joel Eisemann and Julienne Smith

His career spans 42 years, including nearly 29 years at Marriott International where he held various executive leadership positions, including Chief Owner & Franchise Relations Officer; Chief Development Officer, Select-Service and Extended-Stay Brands; Executive Vice President, Global Asset Management; and Senior Vice President, Lodging Development, Asia Pacific.

Joel has also served on the board of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), as well as co-chair of the AHLA’s HotelPAC; was a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hotel Development Council for more than 15 years; and is a long-standing member of the planning committee for the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.

Elie Maalouf, CEO, Americas, IHG Hotels & Resorts said, “Joel’s contributions to the growth of IHG’s brand portfolio over the last 10 years have been very significant. We have greatly benefited from his deep experience and expertise, strong owner relationships and leadership of his team, and I am deeply grateful to him for his service and commitment. More broadly, Joel has been a strong and tireless leader for IHG, an advocate for our industry for decades, and has made a durable, positive impact through his positions with key industry bodies. I wish him and his family all the happiness and good health in the years ahead.

“At the same time, I am fully confident in the future of IHG’s Development team under Julienne’s leadership, and I am very excited to have her join the Americas leadership team as Chief Development Officer to aggressively drive forward our ambitious growth plans in the Americas.”

Julienne has 20 years of development experience, having joined IHG in August 2019 from Hyatt Hotels where she held several leadership roles after starting her career in the hotel industry at Marriott International.

At IHG, Julienne has been responsible for increasing the company’s presence in the United States, Canada and Caribbean for new-builds and conversions for the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels brands, in addition to bringing voco Hotels and Vignette Collection to the Americas.

Julienne also leads the Development & Owner Support team, which is focused on growing and strengthening IHG’s relationship with owners and hotels.

Within the hospitality industry, Julienne is an active member in several organizations including AHLA, Asian American Hotel Owners Association and ULI. She also serves on the AH&LA Foundation Board of Trustees as well as on several industry conference advisory and planning committees.