Vivek Bhalla Appointed as Regional VP at IHG

 IHG has announced the appointment of Vivek Bhalla as the Regional Vice President, South West Asia (SWA), effective from 1 January, 2018. Bhalla succeeds Shantha de Silva who will progress his journey with IHG as Senior Director, New Hotels - Australasia and Japan.

Bhalla will be responsible for spearheading strategic growth for the company and operational performance of 31 hotels in South West Asia, across four brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. He will also play an instrumental role in driving IHG's growth agenda to have 150 hotels open or in the pipeline in India within the next 10 to 15 years, starting with facilitating the opening of 33 hotels in India within the next 3 to 5 years.

In his last role as Director of Operations, SEAK, Bhalla  was responsible for the operations of IHG’s 30+ hotels across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Prior to joining IHG, he was Co-founder and Managing Director of CASAM Hospitality, an asset management and consulting firm in South East Asia.

Bhalla will be based in Gurgaon, India and report to Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG.

Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, IHG, India, Middle East and Africa said, “I am delighted to welcome Vivek Bhalla to the region and to his new role. Vivek has vast operational experience and commercial expertise, and I am confident he will provide strong leadership to this dynamic region and empower IHG to drive both performance and growth across South West Asia.”

Commenting on his appointment, Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President of South West Asia, IHG said, I am very excited to start my new role within IHG. South West Asia, especially India, is fast emerging as an important destination for travellers from across the globe and the region offers many growth opportunities for us. Through our global, preferred brands and strong distribution systems, we have managed to build a strong presence in India with 30 operational hotels and a robust development pipeline. I look forward to working with the team to further strengthen IHG’s presence in the region.”

A veteran in the hospitality industry, Bhalla has also served as Senior Director, Operations for South Asia with Starwood Hotels and Resorts and was responsible for the Pre-Opening and Operations of the group’s hotels in India and South Asia. He has also held senior management positions in the commercial function with both Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Hyatt International Hotels based in Singapore and the United States respectively.

IHG currently has 31 hotels in South West Asia, across four brands including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza,  Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, with a further 38 in the development pipeline due to open within the next three to five years