IHG has announced that Jolyon Bulley will succeed Elie Maalouf as Americas CEO. He will take up his new role on 1st July 2023.

Jolyon Bulley’s appointment follows the promotion of Elie Maalouf to the role of Group CEO after Keith Barr’s decision to step down.

In 2001, Bulley first joined IHG after working as General Manager at Hayman. Initially, he was Director of Operations New South Wales, before progressing through the roles of Regional Director Sales & Marketing Aus/NZ/South Pacific, VP Operations Southeast Asia, and then VP Resorts.

Bulley became VP Operations Southeast & Southwest Asia in 2009. Two years later, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer Greater China and held the post for over three years.

Between 2014 and 2017, he was Chief Operating Officer for the Americas region, where he led the region’s operations for franchised and managed hotels.

Most recently, Bulley was CEO for Greater China and was responsible for accelerating the growth and driving the profitability of IHG’s second-largest market.

Jolyon has made an enormous contribution to the success of IHG over his more than two decades in the business, including holding senior roles in our two biggest markets. His appointment as Americas CEO demonstrates IHG’s commitment to invest in our leaders’ development potential, our robust succession planning, and a continuation of our existing growth strategy for the Americas region.

Keith Barr, outgoing Group CEO at IHG

Jolyon is returning to the Americas business where he has a proven track record of supporting the growth of IHG’s largest region. When he was COO, he redesigned and strengthened how we work with and deliver for our hotel owners. Over the last five years, Jolyon has guided Greater China through the pandemic and into the recovery, further strengthened our owner relationships, and continued to grow the business at pace. I am pleased to be able to move into the Group CEO role knowing that Jolyon will further strengthen the Americas leadership team.

Elie Maalouf, outgoing Americas CEO and Group CEO Designate at IHG

I am proud to have the opportunity to lead our Americas business alongside our many talented colleagues and in partnership with our hotel owners. I have worked in the hospitality industry my entire career and I’m looking forward to building on Elie’s legacy in the region, remaining focused on capitalising on strong owner and guest demand for our amazing brands and our attractive enterprise platform.

Jolyon Bulley, outgoing Greater China CEO and Americas CEO Designate at IHG