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.

 

Lindsey Powers

Lindsey Powers is the Director of Franchise Development for IHG across Oklahoma and Northern Texas. In her role, Lindsey steers development efforts for IHG’s seven mainstream brands: Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Garner, and Atwell Suites. Since joining IHG in 2022, Lindsey has supported hotel developers across the Western and Central U.S., helping them expand into new brands and geographies with her relationship-driven approach to franchise growth.

Before IHG, she worked in the staffing industry, helping organizations address critical workforce needs, and gained experience in residential real estate while working at Berkshire Hathaway, where she developed a strong foundation in client relations and market analysis. Lindsey holds a degree in Business Administration from Eastern Illinois University, where she played volleyball. Now based in Austin, Texas, Lindsey enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, and cheering on the Purdue Boilermakers.

Praveen Reddy

Praveen supports the development of IHG’s Mainstream brands and growth activities for the US East team. Praveen has been with IHG since 2017 and prior to joining the Development team, led major initiatives within Hotel Lifecycle and Growth (HLG), Procurement, and Reservation Customer Care (RCC) departments. Praveen holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee. Residing in Alpharetta, Georgia, Praveen is married with 2 teenage children and also enjoys playing golf, tennis and watching his Tennessee Volunteers and Dallas Cowboys.

Marie Richard

Marie Richard is Director, Development Portfolios & Luxury COE 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.

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.  

Mitchell Salaman

Mitchell Salaman serves as the Regional Vice President of Franchise Sales and Development for the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. He leads a dedicated team focused on advancing IHG’s development efforts for brands such as Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, and Atwell Suites.

Mitchell joined IHG in 2016, bringing with him over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to his tenure at IHG, he held various roles at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, including nine years in Global and North America Development. At Starwood, Mitchell was instrumental in managing and securing both Managed and Franchise deals across all of the company's brands. His career began as a management consultant in the Financial Services and Insurance industry.

Mitchell holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, with specializations in Finance, Accounting, and Information Systems, and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Vermont. Based in Westchester, New York, Mitchell enjoys traveling, skiing, and biking in his spare time.

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.