Eric Pearson, appointed as Chief Information Officer in February 2012, is responsible for global technology, including IT systems and information management throughout the Group.
In his previous capacity as Chief Marketing Officer for The Americas division of IHG, Eric was accountable for all sales and marketing activities across IHG brands in The Americas where he directed the day-to-day business of driving top-line revenue into more than 3,300 hotels across the region. This included brand marketing, global sales, and revenue management for the franchised and managed estate of IHG. In addition to his responsibilities, Eric became interim Head of Global Brands in July 2011.
Previously, Eric served as Senior Vice President, Distribution Marketing, where he was responsible for overseeing IHG's worldwide channels including reservation centres, e-commerce, third party intermediaries, global revenue management, and channel marketing. Under his leadership, IHG launched several industry firsts including the Best Price Rate Guarantee, web language support for 12 languages including Japanese and Chinese with full booking and loyalty program integration. Pearson also led the launch of the first wireless services products enabling researching and booking capability on hundreds of mobile devices and platforms.
Eric joined IHG in 1997 as Senior Director, Emerging Technologies. He was responsible for all web development, guest service technologies, and research and development. Eric later served as Senior Vice President, E-commerce and was responsible for strategy and development of all branded web sites and affiliates worldwide. These initiatives included a variety of web products and services designed to capture business opportunities with customers and partners, as well as streamline hotel operations and communications. As part of his range of responsibilities, Eric oversaw the day-to-day management of these initiatives, including product development, strategic alliances, and channel marketing.
Eric is a past recipient of HSMAI's top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality and Travel Sales & Marketing and has been an industry spokesperson for a variety of travel topics including support in Congress for advancing international travel into the U.S. Before joining IHG, Eric worked for The Walt Disney Company, IBM and NASA in different management and technical capacities. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida.