# Heather Balsley

> Heather Balsley is IHG Hotels & Resorts' Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, responsible for brand strategy, marketing, commercial performance, customer data and analytics, and the end-to-end guest experience across the hotel group's global portfolio. An IHG leader since 2007, she has moved through strategy, regional and global brand leadership, and loyalty, helping lead the 2022 relaunch of IHG One Rewards before joining the executive committee. Her route from management consulting into hospitality, and from a teenage job at a farmers market to decisions spanning coffee service and AI-powered personalization, reflects a career built around complex problems, customer insight, and cross-functional execution.

- **Role:** Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at IHG Hotels & Resorts
- **Organizations:** IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marakon Associates
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in economics and sociology, Duke University, Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Helped lead the 2022 relaunch of IHG One Rewards and its choice-based Milestone Rewards proposition., Advanced through strategy, regional brands, global mainstream marketing, loyalty and partnerships, and the IHG executive committee., Led IHG's brand, marketing, commercial performance, customer data and analytics, and end-to-end customer experience remit as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2007** — Spent seven years with Marakon Associates in New York, advising Fortune 500 companies on performance-enhancing strategies.
- **2007** — Joined IHG as Vice President of Strategy for the Americas after IHG had been a consulting client.
- **2013** — Served as Senior Vice President of the Americas Holiday Inn Brand Family and discussed real-time social marketing for Holiday Inn Express.
- **2017** — As Senior Vice President, Americas Brands & Marketing, helped frame the consumer opportunity for the midscale brand that became avid hotels.
- **2019** — As Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Mainstream Brands, participated in the launch of Atwell Suites for longer-stay guests.
- **2019-2023** — Served as Senior Vice President, Global Loyalty & Partnerships, overseeing loyalty and partnerships, including the relaunch of IHG One Rewards and the co-brand credit card business.
- **2023-11** — Appointed Global Chief Customer Officer and joined IHG's executive committee.
- **2024-04** — Became Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, leading brand, marketing, commercial performance, customer data and analytics, and end-to-end customer experience.
- **2026** — Publicly discussed IHG's use of portfolio breadth, loyalty flexibility, and AI-powered personalization, and promoted conversational hotel search.

## Achievements

- Helped lead the 2022 relaunch of IHG One Rewards and its choice-based Milestone Rewards proposition.
- Advanced through strategy, regional brands, global mainstream marketing, loyalty and partnerships, and the IHG executive committee.
- Led IHG's brand, marketing, commercial performance, customer data and analytics, and end-to-end customer experience remit as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer.
- Was named among Hotel Management's 30 Influential Women in Hospitality in 2017.
- Helped develop and introduce brands and propositions including avid hotels and Atwell Suites during earlier brand leadership roles.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Highlighted IHG's new app in ChatGPT for searching and comparing more than 7,000 hotels and said conversational search was also coming to IHG.com and the IHG One Rewards app.
- **2026-03** — Shared IHG's milestone of surpassing 7,000 open hotels worldwide and emphasized the role of colleagues, owners, and guests.
- **2026-04** — Helped announce an expanded partnership between IHG One Rewards and ANA Mileage Club.
- **2026-02** — Discussed portfolio breadth, loyalty flexibility, and AI-driven personalization in an interview about how IHG seeks to earn traveler trust.
- **2026-01** — Featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Her+Story series, discussing her path to the C-suite, persistence, mentorship, and career breadth.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/about-us/our-leadership/executive-committee/heather-balsley
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-balsley-59076235
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGgGevG6SdE

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/heather-balsley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-10