InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has appointed Philippe Bijaoui to the role of vice president development for Europe.

Reporting to chief development officer Europe, Robert Shepherd, Bijaoui will lead the development of IHG’s brands throughout the region, ensuring the continued growth of both franchised and managed hotels. 

Bijaoui has over 18 years international experience in hotel development and real estate, covering acquisitions, asset management, consulting and brand development.

Prior to joining IHG, he spent five years working at Rezidor Hotel Group as vice president business development for southern and eastern Europe and head of the Hotel Missoni brand globally.

Bijaoui’s previous roles also include positions as global senior vice president development for Club Mediterranee, managing director at HVS International in Madrid, director of business development at Rezidor Hotel Group, director of acquisitions at City Hotels Brussels and asset manager and developer for Societe Immobiliere Hoteliere (SIH) Group. 

Shepherd said: “Europe is an important region for our business and there are significant growth opportunities - I’m delighted to have someone of Philippe’s experience on board to help us capitalise them.

“Philippe will lead our talented team of developers who are working to boost scale throughout the region, particularly in the UK, Germany, Russia and CIS.

“We’ve had a successful 2012 to date, signing over 4,000 rooms throughout the region and there’s still plenty of headroom to grow.”

Bijaoui will be based at IHG’s head office in Denham, UK.

IHG has 622 hotels in Europe, with a further 86 hotels in the pipeline.