Vivek Bhalla appointed as IHG Regional VP South West Asia

Hospitality major InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) today announced top level management changes with its head of South West Asia (SWA) Shantha de Silva being appointed as Senior Director, New Hotels - Australasia and Japan.
He would be succeeded by Vivek Bhalla, who has been appointed as Regional Vice President, South West Asia (SWA), IHG said in a statement.
This would be effective from January 1, 2018.
Bhalla will be based in Gurgaon, India, and will report to IHG Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East and Africa Pascal Gauvin.
Commenting on the development Gauvin said, "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."

In his last role as Director of Operations, SEAK, Bhalla was responsible for the operations of IHG's 30 plus hotels across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Prior to joining IHG, Vivek was Co-founder and Managing Director of CASAM Hospitality, an asset management and consulting firm in South East Asia.
IHG currently has 31 hotels in South West Asia, across four brands including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express with further 38 in the development pipeline due to open within the next three to five years.