Five hotel companies have recently appointed and promoted new executives.
Accor
Gilda Perez-Alvarado, currently global CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, has been appointed as group chief strategy officer of Accor. Assuming the role on Oct. 1, Perez-Alvarado will be a member of the group’s management board, based in Paris, in charge of overseeing global strategy, relations with hotel owners, and strategic partnerships, reporting directly to Accor Chairman & CEO Sébastien Bazin.
With a strong academic background developed across both Europe and North America, at Cornell University and IE Business School, Perez-Alvarado started her career at PwC before joining JLL in 2004. Working in the company’s Hotel & Hospitality division, Perez-Alvarado has accrued nearly two decades of experience providing strategic advice to the industry’s largest owners and investors including sovereign wealth funds, private equity, global brands and family offices/UHNWIs.
In her most recent role at JLL, Perez-Alvarado was responsible for overseeing the global investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management services, offering leading expertise throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. In addition, Perez-Alvarado leads the Global Hotel Desk, the group’s cross-border investment sales team which has executed numerous hospitaliy transactions. Perez-Alvarado holds board and membership positions at a number of high-profile organizations, from Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc, Cornell University Board of Trustees, World Travel & Tourism Council and IREFAC.
IHG
IHG Hotels & Resorts has hired hotel finance veteran Lori Tirado to fill a new role as director of capital markets. In this role, Tirado will focus on building debt-broker and lender relationships that ultimately help secure capital for hotels owned, managed or licensed by IHG.
Tirado joins IHG with nearly 20 years of mortgage banking and lending experience. Most recently, Tirado served as head of business development at Access Point Financial.
WaterWalk
Flexible lodging brand WaterWalk appointed Jim Anhut to interim president and chief development officer to support the strategic expansion. Introduced to WaterWalk’s Board of Directors in January 2022, Anhut brings more than 35 years of extensive industry experience, including having worked alongside WaterWalk’s late founder, extended-stay pioneer Jack DeBoer, in his early career. WaterWalk’s immediate past president, Jim Korroch, will step away from the daily responsibilities and retain an active seat on the company’s board of directors.
“We celebrate the achievements made possible by Jim Korroch throughout his dedicated leadership at WaterWalk,” WaterWalk CEO Mimi Oliver said in a statement. “As WaterWalk continues to grow and propel forward as an innovative flexible lodging solution, we are confident that Jim Anhut will be an invaluable resource in realizing the remarkable vision of our founder and my late grandfather, Jack DeBoer.”
Anhut will target franchise partnerships to develop new properties in key markets across the U.S. Additionally, he will leverage hotel conversion opportunities to transform existing properties into upscale destinations under WaterWalk’s operating model. Throughout his career, Anhut has spearheaded teams at The Residence Inn Company (before its acquisition by Marriott International), Choice Hotels International, InterContinental Hotels Group and Dine Brands Global. He piloted the launch of Staybridge Suites for IHG and the launch of MainStay Suites for Choice Hotels International, encompassing ground-up development, brand positioning and strategic planning for these widely recognized brands.
Anhut is a founding member of both the Extended Stay Lodging Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance.
Sage Hotel Management
Sage Hotel Management, a Sage Hospitality Group company, promoted Robert Butler to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Butler will have complete oversight of Sage’s growing portfolio of more than 60 independent, branded and soft-branded hotels in 16 states and the District of Columbia, with senior vice presidents and vice presidents of Sage’s Independent Hotel Collection, Premier Collection and Upscale Collection reporting to him.
Butler’s career in hospitality spans more than 30 years. Butler spent 14 years at Sage from 2004-2018, culminating in his role as SVP of the Premium Branded Division. After a short time away, Butler returned to Sage in August 2022 as EVP of the Premier and Upscale Collections. Butler focuses on nurturing long-term partnerships with various ownership groups, growing and mentoring talented hoteliers and creating career paths for associates while driving superior associate engagement.
Charlestowne Hotels
Hospitality management company Charlestowne Hotels promoted Maxwell Spangler to vice president of technology. During his 10-year tenure at Charlestowne, Spangler has overseen the strategic growth of the company’s evolving tech stack and road map, developing and deploying new software and systems and identifying continued opportunities for innovation.
“Max’s vast knowledge of the technology sector and his thoughtful leadership have been indispensable to Charlestowne’s continued growth,” Charlestowne CEO Kyle Hughey said. “With a keen pulse on industry trends and the tech landscape, Max is always a few steps ahead, keeping Charlestowne ahead of the curve when it comes to imaginative solutions. His growth within our organization is a testament to an unyielding desire for excellence, and a dedication to shepherding our team through the ever-changing currents of innovation."
Spangler will focus on implementing tech tools across Charlestowne’s portfolio of more than 40 properties, and will help the company's in-house team and on-site property managers embrace emerging tech trends and understand best practices surrounding key industry topics, such as information security and data integrity.
Spangler spent the early part of his career working in front-of-house and corporate positions within the Charlestowne Hotels portfolio. Some of his key achievements include obtaining optimum performance in financial reporting and strategic capital planning for a range of independent properties and designing and deploying new software—like the Groupify hospitality application—which Charlestowne used to manage and increase profitability for group business. Spangler’s new role enables him to join other VPs in lending strategy and building out more tools to support Charlestowne’s continued growth.