Deborah Woollard, Vice President of Human Resources, AMEA, InterContinental Hotels Group

Deborah was appointed Vice President of Human Resources for the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region in September 2014.

As a member of the regional operating committee, Deborah leads the HR team in the delivery of HR services across the estate to ensure IHG’s hotel teams are equipped with the tools they need to attract, recruit, develop and retain the best talent. As there is significant demand for strong talent across the AMEA region, the team work extensively on strategies to build IHG’s talent base including employer branding, proactive recruitment, talent acceleration initiatives and capability building through L&D activities.

A leading global hotel company with the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, IHG operates over 267 hotels across nearly 40 countries in AMEA – the company’s most geographically diverse region with aggressive plans for further growth.

Prior to the world of hospitality, Deborah worked in Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Goods in a number of HR business partner and Talent Development expertise roles both globally and across emerging markets including Russia, China, CIS, Turkey Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Deborah has Masters degrees in Human Resource Management and Coaching Psychology from Sydney University and Bachelor degrees in Commerce and Arts from Monash University. Deborah is a certified executive coach and qualified crisis counsellor and is particularly passionate about leadership development both at an organisation and individual level.

Deborah has lived and worked in Australia, the UK and Singapore where she currently resides.