Watt's The Good Word

The latest guest reservation system, a slew of hotel brands – Alan Watts, IHG’s COO-Asia, Middle East and Africa reveals that the brand is bullish on India. 

- Vinita Bhatia

Alan Watts belongs to a rare breed in the corporate world – at a time where jumping jobs every couple of years is considered the norm, he has been with the same company for 20 years and counting. Watts joined InterContinental Hotels & Resorts’ (IHG) after its acquisition of SPHC group in Australia.

Having spent significant time as a general manager, he took on senior roles in the company, including managing the operations of hotels across South East Asia and leading the expansion of the company's Holiday Inn Express brand across Asia and Australasia. He was most recently COO for Australasia, Japan and AMEA Operations Performance before being appointed as COO for IHG’s Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region.

Currently, Watts is responsible for the company’s operations across 267 hotels in nearly 40 countries and territories, and oversees the region's hotel performance systems and processes. IHG operates five brands in the region: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express and Hotel Indigo.

Originally from New Zealand, Watts is based in IHG's regional head office in Singapore and is a member of the organisation’s Regional Operating Committee. But he has the redeeming qualities of a true-blue Kiwi, from the twinkling eyes that are up for some adventure, the well-built physique that speaks of time invested outdoors and evocative speech that indicates the adaptability to multi-cultural societies and cross-country business ideologies.