IHG hires Larry Light as top marketer
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) has recruited former McDonald’s marketing chief Larry Light to take responsibility for global brand building.
Light takes the new title chief brand officer and arrives as IHG launches new hotel propositions, such as the Even chain focusing on well-being. He is a former executive vice president and global CMO of McDonald’s.
His appointment is part of a restructure in the senior IHG team that sees the ditching of the chief marketing officer title. This was last held by Tom Seddon who left the company in July last year.
The company has said that it wants to focus more on strengthening its brand portfolio, which includes Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, Intercontinental Hotels and Crown Plaza, and exit the property-owning side of the hotel business.
When delivering the first results under his tenure last August, recently appointed CEO Richard Solomons said: “Our priorities are to develop our brands, invest in our people and strengthen our revenue delivery systems, thereby creating firmer foundations for growth.”
Other changes see former CMO for The Americas and interim global head of brands Eric Pearson become chief information officer with responsibility for overseeing technological development at the company.
Steve Sickel continues with the dual roles of interim global head of sales and distribution as well as leading the global distribution and relationship marketing team.
Light stepped down from his CMO role at McDonald’s in 2005 to ostensibly retire.
