InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has appointed Robert “Bob” Morse as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Americas region, succeeding Angela Brav who is now president of IHG’s Europe region.

In his new role with IHG, he will lead the operations activities for franchised and managed hotels across all of IHG’s brands in the Americas region.

“Bob is a tremendous addition to our leadership team in the Americas region,” said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG. “He has had a significant presence in our industry for 35 years and his operations, franchise and management expertise covers all aspects of running a successful hotel and brings an owner’s perspective to this position. Bob will lead a key component in driving the performance of our brands and hotels for our owners. His focused attention on the operations of the managed and franchised hotels in our portfolio will help us to fulfill our core purpose of creating Great Hotels Guests Love.”

“I’m looking forward to working alongside the great people at IHG, from the senior leadership team to the people who bring their hotels to life,” said Morse, the incoming chief operating officer, the Americas, IHG. “IHG’s focus on people, their strong brands and global strength within the industry are all big draws for me. I’ve watched IHG become a global force within the industry and am excited to be a part of the leadership team.”

Morse will join IHG in February from Noble Investment Group where he most recently served as managing principal and chief operating officer. For the past seven years, he was responsible for Noble’s hotel management group, which prior to its October 2011 merger with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, operated more than 60 properties including full and select service hotels with annual management revenues of approximately $350 million.

Prior to joining Noble, Morse was the chief operating officer for Interstate where he was responsible for directing a portfolio of more than 300 hotels and resorts with more than $2.3 billion in annual revenue. Additionally, he has served in senior management positions for Millennium and Copthorne Hotels and with ITT Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.