Whitbread has confirmed the appointment of two non-executive directors, Susan Hooper and Susan Taylor Martin.

Alongside Costa Coffee, Whitbread runs Premier Inn, the largest hotel chain in the UK.

Hooper, an experienced international leisure sector executive, is presently chief executive of Acromas Travel where she has been responsible for the Saga, AA and Titan Hi Tours holiday and travel businesses since 2009. 

Her other leisure and consumer experience includes time as senior vice president, EMEA at Royal Caribbean Cruises, where she also represented them on the board of First Choice Holidays, and senior roles at Avis Europe. 

Prior to that she worked at Pepsico International for nine years, living and working in several central European countries.

Hooper is currently a member of the SC Johnson European Advisory Board and previously served as a non-executive director of Transcom, Royal & Sun Alliance and Courtaulds Textiles.

Her appointment will be effective from September 2011.

Taylor Martin, an international executive in rapidly changing markets, was appointed president, Media at Thomson Reuters in July 2011 and has held a number of other roles at Thomson Reuters during a period of extensive technological innovation and corporate change. 

These included president, global investment Focus Accounts and managing director, UK and Ireland within Thomson Reuters Markets.

Prior to that she was global head, corporate strategy for Reuters, which she joined in 1993.

Her appointment will be effective from January 1st 2012.

Anthony Habgood, chairman of Whitbread, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of two talented multi-lingual international executives.

“They each bring a different complementary range of skills and experiences to the Whitbread Board as we continue to grow our market-leading businesses both in the UK and selectively around the world.”