Bangkok, 28 August 2017: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has announced that female senior talent across Holiday Inn Express hotels in South East Asia (SEA) is at an all-time high. This follows the appointment of two General Managers who completed the company's General Manager Express Lane programme.

IHG graduates Nattareutai Thanapoomikul (Aimmy) and Ashleigh Garside are now at the helm of the operational teams at Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 and Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong respectively.

Launched in 2014, the General Manager Express Lane programme is the first of its kind in the industry and aims to accelerate top performers into management positions. The programme identifies potential candidates based on stand-out flexibility, business acumen and resilience, and supports them with learning and development and in-house mentorship.

To date, IHG has placed three General Managers from the programme into hotels across SEA. A further four high-performing candidates are participating in the initiative and are set to take the reins within 12 months.

Leanne Harwood, Vice President, Operations, South East Asia and Korea, IHG, said: “Hospitality is all about people, and having strong leaders in our hotels makes absolutely all the difference in not just driving performance for our business and owners, but also how we develop and grow the talent in our hotels teams. The programme has also addressed the gender balance, with more than half our Holiday Inn Express General Managers being female across the region and all Holiday Inn Express hotels in Thailand have female leaders at the helm.”

Harwood added: “We identified Aimmy and Ashleigh as individuals with high potential early on. Going through the General Manager Express Lane programme has fast-tracked their capabilities and enabled them to step into role in just 12 months –  a great testament to the success of the programme.”

“Our Holiday Inn Express portfolio in the region will more than double when we open another 10 hotels over the next few years, and with this programme we will have a strong pool of talent enabled to lead and drive performance in these fantastic hotels. To support this growth, we are also actively looking to recruit fresh candidates into our hotels as part of our ongoing succession planning,” she said.

IHG operates 66 hotels and resorts across five brands in SEA, of which 17 are Holiday Inn Express hotels. Over the next three to five years, the company will open a further 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels across the region.  

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