Greg Childs

Greg Childs is Development Director for UK & Ireland at IHG^®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for growing IHG's development opportunities encompassing luxury, upscale and mainstream opportunities through managed and franchised deal structures in one of IHG’s key global markets.

Prior to joining IHG, Greg was an Executive Vice President in the JLL Hotels & Hospitality team with a specific focus on hotel operator selection, contract negotiation and development advisory. 

He has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality sector, having advised numerous clients on hotel developments and investments throughout the EMEA region. During his career, Greg has been involved in investment and advisory work for hotel schemes ranging from budget hotels to major mixed-use resorts and prime luxury hotels. 

Greg holds a MSc in Real Estate Management from The University of Exeter and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Jaideep Dang

Jaideep Dang is the Head of Development for South West Asia at IHG Hotels & Resorts, responsible for driving IHG’s growth strategy across the region.

Jaideep brings with him over 22 years of deep and diverse experience in the hospitality and real estate sectors, with a proven track record of delivering results across geographies. He joins IHG from JLL India, where, as Managing Director – Hotels & Hospitality Group, he led the advisory and transactions business for India and South Asia. Under his leadership, the business established a market leading position in hotel investment sales, and built a strong, high performing team recognised for delivering outstanding advisory on hotel project feasibilities, valuations, management contracts, and development strategies. Prior to JLL, Jaideep spent eight years with The Oberoi Group as Senior Vice President, Strategic Development.

François de Laveaucoupet

François de Laveaucoupet is the Development Director for Europe at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the development & growth of IHG’s brand portfolio across France.

Francois brings over 10 years of experience in hospitality property investment and hotel acquisition. Prior to IHG, he was most recently the Senior Vice President of Investment at GCP Hospitality where he was responsible for leading the hotel investment strategy in the Europe and Asia Pacific hospitality real estate markets. He participated in the acquisition of over 25 hotels around the world representing more than USD 2.5B in face value.

Francois holds a Masters in Finance from the ESSCA Business School.

Trong Khoa Dinh

Trong Khoa Dinh is the Development Director for South East Asia & Korea at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the development and growth of IHG’s brand portfolio across South East Asia & Korea, particularly in Vietnam.

Shaun Dubash

Shaun Dubash is Senior Director of Development for Middle East & Africa at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for growing IHG’s brand distribution through franchise and management agreements across strategic MEA markets including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, major African markets and Pakistan.

Shaun has over 10 years’ experience in the hotel development industry and MEA region, where he has cultivated strong owner relationships and has been exposed to a variety of hotel development projects. He is well-versed in understanding owner objectives and delivering tailored deal solutions for various project types, from new build to conversion projects.

James Farrah

James joined IHG in January 2024 and is responsible for leading the growth of IHG's upper Luxury, Lifestyle, and Premium portfolio across the Americas region, including Six Senses, Regent Hotels & Resorts, and Branded Residential across all brands. Prior to joining IHG, James was part of Marriott International and held roles in both the law department and the development organization as Vice President of luxury hotel and branded residential development throughout North America. Prior to the hospitality industry, James was an associate in the real estate practice group at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, D.C. James earned his undergraduate degree and JD from Georgetown University. He is based outside of Washington, D.C. and enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, traveling, experiencing new cultures, and keeping an eye out for luxury development opportunities.

Pedro Freire

Pedro Freire has over 20 years of significant experience in the hotel industry.

Before joining IHG team, Pedro was a Vice President of Asset Management at hotelAVE. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the company´s assignments throughout Latin America, which included All-Inclusive and luxury resorts and hotels, totaling more than $1 billion invested and encompassing three thousand keys.

Before hAVE, Pedro has worked for near 15 years at JLL, where he oversaw the Advisory, Asset Management and Investment Sales activities for Hotels & Hospitality team in Brazil. With JLL, Pedro has participated of a wide-variety of valuations and feasibility studies, as well as operator selection processes, management and franchise contract negotiations and asset management assignments, ranging from budget and limited-service properties to luxury hotels and branded residences, destination all-inclusive resorts and luxury second homes in Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Additionally, he has been involved in hotel transactions, capital raising and IPO processes related to the development of hotels and resorts with branded residences and second homes.

Prior to joining JLL, Pedro worked as Manager, Acquisitions & Development – Latin America for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, where he participated in franchise and management agreements negotiations and prepared market research and financial analysis for investment opportunities in Brazil and Latin America.

Previously, Pedro worked as sales account executive at the Gran Meliá Mofarrej in São Paulo, Brazil and as a Revenue Management trainee at Marriott Brazil.

Pedro has also completed hotel operations internships at the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria in Rome, Italy and at the Hotel Astor in Switzerland.

Pedro has a MBA from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo and graduated with Merit from the Les Roches International School of Hotel Management School in Switzerland. He has also undertaken further study in Real Estate Investment, in the Professional Development Program, at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil. He is proficient in Portuguese and English, fluent in Spanish and communicates well in French and Italian.

In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and friends. He also likes running and walking, watching movies, reading, and traveling.

Willemijn Geels

Willemijn Geels is Vice President of Development for Europe region at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. She is responsible for driving the expansion of IHG's portfolio of brands across Europe, encompassing luxury, upscale and mainstream opportunities through managed and franchised deal structures. In addition to identifying new growth opportunities, Willemijn and her team work closely with owners and investors in a support and advisory capacity to drive long-term revenue.

Prior to joining IHG in 2015, Willemijn was Development & Acquisitions Director at Louvre Hotels Group where she delivered strong returns for European owners. She also gained experience in Deloitte's Transport, Hospitality and Leisure team in Paris, where she led multiple hotel valuations, feasibility studies, and transaction and strategic advisory assignments.

Willemijn graduated from IMHI-ESSEC business school with an MBA degree in International Hospitality Management specialising in Real Estate.

Pathana Jitsaereetham

Pathana Jitsaereetham is Development Director, Thailand for South East Asia & Korea at IHG^®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. Pathana is responsible for the strategic growth of IHG’s portfolio in Thailand.

Prior to joining IHG, Pathana was Development Manager at Asset World Corp (AWC) and Central Pattana (CPN), leading real estate and hotel developers in Thailand. He was also previously Development & Asset Management Manager at Nova Asset Management, a hotel consulting firm based in Thailand.

Pathana holds an MBA from University of Strathclyde, UK and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.