Robert leads development for all of IHG's brands in Europe for franchised and managed hotels, overseeing deals through the design and pre-opening phases until the hotels open into the IHG system.
Robert's previous role at IHG was as Vice President Hotel Services EMEA, responsible for a centre of excellence for design, openings, quality and guest experience. The key objective was to deliver a pipeline of 150+ new hotels and ensure that all new and existing IHG hotels deliver on the IHG brand promise.
Prior to that Robert led a business development team in IHG with responsibility for growing distribution in the UK & Ireland through new franchise and management contracts. This role involved managing the third party relationships and driving performance improvement throughout the franchised and managed estate.
Robert started his career as a Chartered Surveyor and has come through the construction side of the property industry, including four years in Dubai where he worked in the Major Projects Division of WS Atkins on the Jumeirah Beach Resort and Burj Al Arab development. This striking introduction to hotels lead to Robert’s affinity for the business, resulting in appointments as Consultant Project Manager to IHG on various hotel projects, before joining the company in 2001.
Robert attended Kingston Polytechnic, graduating with a first class BSc (Hons) degree in Quantity Surveying. He lives in Hampshire, UK, with his wife and two children. Hobbies include motorsport, mountain biking and motorcycle trials riding.