Julienne Smith, senior vice president of development, luxury and upscale development and owner support for IHG Hotels & Resorts, has been appointed as the successor to Joel Eisemann, chief development officer, Americas, who will retire from the role in June.
Since first joining IHG in 2011, Eisemann has played a pivotal role in boosting the company’s development teams in luxury, upscale, and mainstream sectors for the Americas and led the expansion of franchised and managed brand portfolios. IHG’s footprint grew from 3,500 to 4,300 open hotels during his tenure as well. Eisemann previously lent his expertise to Marriott International in a variety of executive roles, served on the board of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), and was a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hotel Development Council for more than 15 years. He remains a member of the planning committee for the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.
“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,” says Elie Maalouf, IHG CEO, Americas. “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.”
Smith brings forth 20 years of development experience to her new title. Also formerly with Marriott, Smith has been instrumental in the growth of IHG’s presence across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean with new builds and conversions. She helms the development and owner support team and is an active member of AHLA, ULI, and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. Smith serves on the AH&LA Foundation board of trustees as well.
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