New Leadership Also Includes Several CIO-level Additions to its Board of Governors
CHICAGO (November 17, 2014) – Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), the membership association that unites the world’s hospitality companies and technology innovators to solve industry challenges, announced a planned succession of its volunteer leadership, as well as several high-profile CIO-level additions to its Board of Governors.
Monika Nerger, Chief Information Officer of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, succeeds Jeremy Ward as President of the association. Nerger has served on the Board of Governors since 2012 and as Vice President since 2013. She has been active in HTNG for more than ten years, having previously served as a forum and workgroup chair. “Monika Nerger has been a great evangelist and supporter of HTNG, and no one is more qualified than she to take on the leadership role,” said Douglas C. Rice, Chief Executive Officer of HTNG, who continues to manage HTNG’s day-to-day operations. Richard Tudgay, Vice President of IT for Omni Hotels & Resorts, was elected as Vice President to fill the vacancy created by Nerger’s appointment. Tudgay has served on the Board of Governors since 2009.
The succession plan was triggered by the departure of former President Jeremy Ward from his position as Senior Vice President of IT at Kempinski Hotels. Ward accepted a senior executive role with a technology provider, and HTNG’s by-laws do not permit vendors to serve on its Governing board or as officers. “Jeremy Ward provided outstanding leadership to HTNG during his tenure as President, and he has been an active board member since 2007. We wish him well in his new role, but we will miss his leadership in the HTNG boardroom,” said Monika Nerger.
Five New IT Leaders Elected to HTNG Board of Governors
In addition to the new officers, five hospitality industry IT leaders were elected to HTNG’s Board of Governors. This volunteer group provides oversight, strategic direction and governance to the association. The five new Governors are:
- Emmanuel Clavé, Group IT Director of Rocco Forte Hotels
- Laurent Idrac, Chief Information Officer of Accor
- Edward Malinowski, Chief Information Officer of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
- Bryan Steele, Head of IT for the Royal Automobile Club
- David Velasquez, Vice President of IT at Best Western International
“We are delighted with our continued progress in engaging industry leaders from every segment of hospitality and all major geographic regions,” said Douglas Rice. “Each of the new Governors is the senior-most IT executive at his respective company, and increases HTNG’s influence over the future of core technologies in our industry. This allows our members to focus their efforts on innovations that can provide competitive advantage, rather than reinventing the wheel on basic technologies.” HTNG’s global reach continues to expand, with more than half of its Board members now based outside the US.
For more information about the newly elected Governors, as well as about the eleven others that they join, visit http://htng.org/leadership/board-of-governors.
