Hospitality industry veteran Serena Lim has been appointed to the role of Chief Growth Officer by The Ascott Limited. She will report directly to the company’s CEO, Kevin Goh, and sit on the Ascott Management Committee.

Serena Lim will lead Ascott’s global business development team and be responsible for overseeing the company’s growth in management and franchise contracts globally, with the exception of China. Through an asset-light growth strategy aimed at delivering strong recurring fee income, she will seek to accelerate the group’s development ambitions.

Lim began her career in hospitality in 1997 with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In her position as VP of Development and Strategic Planning, she was responsible for Starwood's development efforts in Indonesia, Philippines, and Indochina over the course of almost two decades.

In 2016, Lim joined Marriott International where she was Regional VP of Hotel Development for a 7-month period. The following year, she moved to InterContinental Hotel Group. As IHG’s VP of Development for Southeast Asia and Korea, she was charged with leading development strategy and extending growth teams in the region, as well as implementing initiatives to align culture with strategy and processes.

We believe in investing in the right talents to support our growth ambitions while strengthening our lodging management capabilities. Serena joins us with over two decades of industry experience, and her wealth of knowledge and experience in establishing long-term owner relations is key for us as we seek new opportunities to extend our geographic reach across key growth markets. With her in-depth expertise in building and leading large development teams in global hospitality groups and her track-record in delivering tangible results, I am confident that under her leadership, we will grow the business to new heights of success as we continue the rapid expansion of our property portfolio across all brands over the next few years.

Kevin Goh, CEO of Ascott

I am excited to join Ascott and play a key role in its next stage of growth. The pandemic has since brought about a shift in the needs and expectations from asset owners and our priority now is to deepen our engagement with existing owners whilst pursuing added opportunities to establish new owner relations.

Serena Lim, Chief Growth Officer at Ascott