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Breaking news! Accor, world-leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries in 5,500 properties, has appointed Gilda Perez-Alvarado as its Group Chief Strategy Officer.
Currently the Global CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Gilda will assume her new role with Accor on October 1, 2023. Gilda will be a member of the group’s Management Board, based in Paris, in charge of overseeing global strategy, relations with hotel owners, and strategic partnerships, reporting directly to Accor Chairman & CEO, Sébastien Bazin.
We caught up with Gilda by email, "I couldn’t be more excited to join an extraordinary global company with a great entrepreneurial spirit!" A company she has long admired as a global innovator in the hospitality industry, she added, "I look forward to applying my global hospitality, real estate and capital markets experience and insight to drive forward the group strategy and deliver against the management's inspiring vision for the company."
Sébastien Bazin, Accor's Chairman & CEO, expressed confidence in Gilda's abilities, "With her considerable skills and global hospitality expertise, Gilda will help us unlock the power of Accor's strategy providing guests, owners and investors with an unrivaled hospitality experience."
Gilda brings with her a wealth of experience and a robust academic background. Having graduated with honors from Cornell University and IE Business School, she began her career at PwC and then joined JLL in 2004. Working in the company’s Hotel & Hospitality division, Gilda has accrued nearly two decades of experience providing top-tier strategic advice to the industry’s largest owners and investors including sovereign wealth funds, private equity, global brands, and family offices/UHNWIs.
In her role at JLL, Gilda is responsible for overseeing the global investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management services, offering leading expertise throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. In addition, Gilda leads the Global Hotel Desk, the group’s cross-border investment sales team which has executed the sale of some of the world’s most iconic hospitality assets worldwide.
In recognition of her capabilities spanning both real estate and hospitality, Gilda holds board and membership positions at a number of high-profile organisations, from Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc, Cornell University Board of Trustees, World Travel & Tourism Council, IREFAC, among others. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2023 IREFAC Arne Sorensen Leadership Award.
Furthering Accor's Commitment to Gender Diversity
It's great to see Gilda joining the C-Suite at Accor, a company that is committed to creating a more inclusive workplace. The company set a goal to have women make up 40 percent of their Executive Committee ad 45 percent of the Global Leadership Team by 2025, as well as a strong push for more women as hotel general managers. The company is making marked progress, in 2015, 27% of hotel managers were women versus 2021, when we reached 32%.
So pleased for Gilda, who continues to inspire us!!! Be sure to read more of our interviews with her: