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 Saaoglu

Merve Sakaoglu ist der Senior Entwicklungs Manager für Türkiye bei IHG Hotels & Resorts, einem der weltweit führenden Hotelunternehmen. 

In ihrer Funktion leitet Merve die Expansion des vielfältigen Hotelmarkenportfolios von IHG im ganzen Land, einschließlich Luxus, Gehobenes- und Mainstream-Möglichkeiten durch verwaltete und Franchising-Deals. 

Mit über 15 Jahren Erfahrung im Gastgewerbe war Merve in verschiedenen operativen Führungspositionen bei weltweit renommierten Hotels wie Marriott, Shangri-La, Raffles und Accor tätig. In der Türkiye-Zentrale von Accor spielte sie eine wichtige Rolle bei der landesweiten Überwachung der operativen Standards und unterstützte die Entwicklungsinitiativen der Gruppe. 

Merve hat einen BA-Abschluss von der renommierten Hacettepe University und hat ihre Marketingkompetenzen durch ein Studium in Oxford vertieft.  

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

Deepshi Kha Sinha unterstützt die Entwicklung der Luxury & Lifestyle und Premium Hotelmarke von IHG in den nordöstlichen Regionen der USA (NY, JE, CT, RI und NH). Sie ist seit 2018 bei IHG tätig, wo sie zunächst für das Investmentanalyse-Team tätig war, bevor sie zum Entwicklungsteam in 2021 wechselte. 

Vor ihrem Eintritt bei IHG war Deepshi Kha als Senior Manager, Feasibility & Investment Analytics für die Jumeirah Group tätig, wo sie vielfältige Projekte leitete, von der Entwicklung einzelner Anlagen bis hin zu Mischnutzung und integrierten Tourismuskomplexen. Im Bereich 18

Deepshikha hat einen Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) mit Fokus auf Real Estate Finanzen & Investments von der Cornell University. Sie spricht fließend Englisch und Portugiesisch. In ihrer Freizeit unternimmt sie gerne Roadtrips, um neue Reiseziele zu entdecken.

Andrzej Szymczyk

Andrzej Szymczyk is Development Director for Poland & Eastern Europe at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for leading and growing IHG’s portfolio through franchise and management agreements.

Andrzej has over 15 years of extensive international experience in the hospitality industry across various hotel departments, especially in large hotel groups as well as independent hotels covering a large variety of property types. He is well positioned to help owners optimise their asset and recommending the most appropriate brand and design solutions for their properties.

Matthew Tripolone

Matthew Tripolone is Managing Director - Australasia & Pacific at IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the company’s strategic growth, performance and operations in the Australasia & Pacific region.

Matthew was previously based in Dubai as Vice President of Development for IHG’s Middle East & Africa region since 2018, where he built and led the team that signed 17,000 keys, delivering unparalleled growth and signings for the Group, including the first Kimpton in MEA, and the world’s largest Crowne Plaza and voco hotels in the world.

Prior to that, Matthew headed development for IHG in Australasia & Japan, where he was responsible for IHG’s growth and doubled the annual signings, including iconic properties including InterContinental Perth, Crowne Plaza Christchurch, Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour and InterContinental Hayman Island Resort, as well as the renewal of several strategic portfolios for the group.

He joined IHG in 2014 from Accor Hotels where he held the role of General Manager, Development – Pacific, since 2008. Prior to that Matthew has worked for a number of leading real estate and advisory companies specialising in development, planning and site acquisition.

Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Sydney.

Yuri Tsujimoto

Yuri Tsujimoto ist Entwicklungs Director für Japan bei IHG^®, einem der führenden Hotelunternehmen der Welt. Sie ist verantwortlich für die Entwicklung und das Wachstum des IHG Hotelmarkenportfolios in Japan. 

Yuri has more than a decade of experience in hotel industry. Before joining IHG in 2022, she was Development Manager at Hilton, where she supported the signing of major portfolios in Japan. Prior to that she held roles in e-commerce strategy at Hilton and at Ishin Hotels Group, where she started her hospitality career as a management trainee.

Yuri holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University Los Angeles in the U.S.

Gautam Tyagi

Gautam Tyagi ist Entwicklungsmanager für Südwestasien bei IHG Hotels & Resorts, einem der führenden Hotelunternehmen der Welt. Seine Aufgabe ist es, das Hotelmarkenportfolio von IHG über die Regionen hinweg zu erweitern.

Mit über 10 Jahren Erfahrung im Immobilienbereich hatte Gautam bedeutende Positionen bei Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), HVS, Hotelivate und der Indian Hotels Firma Limited (IHCL) in Neu-Delhi inne.

Zu seinen Fachgebieten gehören Hotel- Schlussverkauf, strategische Beratung, Hotelbewertungen, Marktmachbarkeit und Ertragsmanagement.

Gautam hat einen Abschluss mit Auszeichnung in Gastgewerbemanagement.

Robert van der Graaf

Robert van der Graaf is Development Director for Northern Europe for IHG®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. He is responsible for the expansion of IHG’s portfolio with a focus on Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Robert actively fosters relationships with existing growth stakeholders, creates new partnerships and asset-right deal structures.

Before joining IHG, Robert spent four years with the Radisson Hotel Group, as Senior Director of Business Development for Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, where he signed lease, management and franchise agreements and secured the entry of two new hotel brands in the region.

Prior to that, Robert worked for eleven years at Worldhotels – a global group of independently operated upscale hotels, where he added over 40 hotels to the portfolio. He also has a profound understanding of hotel commercial operations and distribution and went through the group’s three major transitions, including a rebranding, a merger and two private equity cycles.

A Dutch native, Robert speaks four languages and holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from The Hotelschool The Hague.