Fabrizio Piolanti

Fabrizio Piolanti is Director Development for Italy at IHG^®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the expansion of IHG’s brand portfolio in Italy.

Fabrizio boasts an extensive knowledge of the Italian market with over 15 years of experience in corporate roles, operations, and consulting. Prior to IHG, he was Development Director at Marriott International and has executed both limited and premium brands projects, in urban and resort destinations. He also gained experience in EY’s and JLL’s Hospitality teams in Milan, where he led multiple operator selection processes, valuations, feasibility studies and transaction assignments.

Fabrizio holds a master’s degree in Tourism economics from Bocconi University in Milan.
 

Marie Richard

Marie Richard is Senior Development Manager for Portfolios and Strategic Alliances in Europe at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. Marie’s pan-European role is responsible for developing all IHG’s brands in collaboration with IHG regional developers for any portfolio deals and strategic alliances, including multi-country development partnerships or complex luxury deals.

Prior to IHG, Marie worked for Jin Jiang / Louvre Hotels Group for seven years where she had a progressive career from an International Development Analyst to Asset & Investment Manager and was most recently an M&A Manager, where she worked on several portfolio acquisitions for the group in Europe and Brazil. She was also in charge of International Operations for South America and India, in coordination with local operational offices.

Marie is an Honours graduate of HEC Paris Business School in France where she followed a Master in Management in Corporate Finance.

Samuel Richard

Samuel Richard is a Business Development Manager at IHG Hotels and Resorts, where he focuses on driving IHG brand growth in U.S. and Canada. With over a decade of experience at IHG, he previously served as a Quality Consultant and Regional Director of Franchise Openings.

A key contributor to the launch of Garner Hotels, Sam played an instrumental role in the successful opening of the first property in Auburn, WA, in December 2023. He excels in project management, growth strategies, and building strong relationships with hotel owners.

Before joining IHG, Sam worked as a Quality Consultant with LRA/Deloitte and held various operations roles with Fairmont, Westin, and W Hotels. 

Sam holds a Diploma in Hospitality Management from the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Université du Québec à Montréal.

Sam resides in Cochrane, near Calgary in Alberta, Canada. In his free time, Sam enjoys hiking and cross-country skiing in the Canadian Rockies, as well as cooking, gardening and traveling.

Misty Roe

Misty Roe supports the development functions for IHG’s upscale brands in the northeast, southeast and midwestern United States. She assists in identifying new development opportunities and retaining existing assets in IHG’s portfolio. Prior to joining IHG, Misty worked on the Franchise Development team at Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, respectively. In her personal time, Misty enjoys gathering with her family and friends, taking her dog to get fresh air at the park, and lending a helping hand to local animal rescue groups.

Philip Ryan

Philip Ryan is Director of Development for Japan and Director of Capital Investments & Transactions for Asia Pacific. Based in Tokyo, he is responsible for working with hotel investors and owners on new hotels and conversions and executing IHG’s strategic growth in Japan and the region.

Merve Sakaoglu

Merve Sakaoglu is the Senior Development Manager for Türkiye at IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. 

In her role, Merve spearheads the expansion of IHG’s diverse brand portfolio across the country, including luxury, upscale, and mainstream opportunities through managed and franchised deal structures. 

With over 15 years of extensive hospitality experience, Merve has held various operational leadership positions at globally renowned brands such as Marriott, Shangri-La, Raffles, and Accor. At Accor’s Türkiye Head Office, she played a pivotal role in overseeing operational standards nationwide while providing significant support for the group’s development initiatives. 

Merve holds a bachelor’s degree from the prestigious Hacettepe University and further honed her expertise in Marketing through studies at Oxford.  

Abhijay Sandilya

Abhijay Sandilya is Managing Director - Japan at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the company’s strategic growth, performance and operations in Japan.

Prior to taking on this role in October 2021, Abhijay spent nearly 6 years with IHG in Australia where he most recently led IHG’s Development team as VP Development - Japan, Australasia, Pacific. Together with his team in Sydney and Tokyo, he was responsible for IHG’s biggest years of signings and openings on record in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia and Micronesia – signing almost 60 deals and reshaping the JAPAC region from 60 operating hotels in 2016 to more than 140 open and pipeline hotels today.

Key signings in his time with IHG have included the Appi Kogen portfolio, IHG’s biggest conversion deal in more than a decade in Japan, the first voco and Vignette Collection hotels globally, and market entries for Hotel Indigo, Kimpton and Regent.

Prior to his time at IHG, Abhijay worked for Whitbread PLC and the Jumeirah Group in Singapore and Dubai holding key leadership positions working on hotel real estate acquisitions for the groups working across markets in the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific regions.

Abhijay has lived and worked in eight countries and holds a Master’s degree from Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School of Management.

Deepshikha Sinha

Deepshikha Sinha supports the development of IHG’s Luxury, Lifestyle & Premium brands across the Northeastern region of the USA. She has been with IHG since 2018, initially contributing to the Investment Analysis team before transitioning to the Development team in 2021.

Prior to joining IHG, Deepshikha served as Senior Manager, Feasibility & Investment Analysis for Jumeirah Group, where she led diverse projects ranging from single asset developments to mixed-use and integrated tourism complexes. Her extensive career has seen her work on hospitality projects across five continents and reside in over 18 different cities, providing her with a broad and nuanced understanding of global hospitality markets.

Deepshikha holds a Master of Management in Hospitality (M.M.H) with a focus on Real Estate Finance & Investments from Cornell University. She is fluent in both English and Hindi, and in her free time, she enjoys embarking on road trips to explore new destinations.

Stacy Soffer

Stacy is Director of Development for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants where she focuses on the growth and retention of Kimpton’s portfolio through sourcing, evaluating, and securing new franchise and management opportunities in the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Prior to joining Kimpton, Stacy was Director of Feasibility and Development Planning at Marriott International where she led hotel underwriting and business intelligence to support new hotel development, conversions, and renovation/repositioning opportunities. Stacy started her hospitality career at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide where she took on increased responsibilities over her tenure at the company, including roles on the Global Development Team as well as serving as Associate Director of North America Feasibility, Development and Investment Analysis. Stacy holds a bachelor’s degree from the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. Stacy lives in Connecticut with her husband and two young sons. In her free time Stacy enjoys, being outdoors, hiking, gardening, and visiting the beach.