This leader is accountable for defining, developing and executing the guest experience at all designated brands globally in a way that is consistent with each brands strategic business model and creates maximum profitability and enhances the long-term health of the brand. This experience spans from building brand preference for both customers and investors, to on-site product and service touch points and the global marketing of the brands. To enable this, the leader is responsible for: 1) establishing the brand strategy and multi-year planning across brands, 2) execution of the brand strategy through cross-functional/matrixed resources, 4) managing the business model & driving brand performance. CORE WORK ACTIVITIES The Senior Vice President, Select Brands, is accountable for overseeing the definition, development, and execution of the guest experience at all assigned brands globally in a way that is consistent with each brands strategic business model and creates maximum profitability. This experience spans from building brand preference for both customers and investors, to on-site product and service touch points for the brands. To enable this, this Senior Vice President leads the team who are directly responsible for developing and constantly enhancing the direction for the brands including: Brand Strategy & Planning Anticipates and identifies strategic business opportunities and challenges and responds with a profitable strategy that aligns and supports the overall growth strategy for the assigned portfolio. Leads brand teams across the assigned brand portfolio to advance new initiatives, products, and services (including evaluation of initiative impact, ROI, and sustainability). Participates with Global development and supports the on-strategy growth of the brands Ensures that the portfolio affiliation is pulled through elegantly and thoughtfully preserving the brand equity for each brand Collaborates with the Continent brand teams to pull through on the brand execution in product and service Engages and participates in the relevant forums outside of the industry to keep these brands in the consideration set of the target consumer Actively manage and participate in owner relationships to drive the brand objectives forward Establishes a strategic brand and operations business plan for each brand and brand extension within the assigned portfolio. Secures senior executive alignment, specifically the objectives, priorities, and support required to successfully execute. Leads the annual business planning process for the portfolio of brands, to include development and alignment of priority initiatives and securing the associated funding required. Provides executive leadership approval for project requests; accesses team and appropriate resources to spearhead projects, according to agreed upon governance structure; ensures brands garner funding for major capital projects. Oversees and approves the development of solution /project implementation plans and acts as escalation point for implementation challenges/decision points. Provides strategic guidance and partners with disciplines/market to set Brand Performance Scorecard targets. Reviews scorecard performance across assigned brand portfolio. Provides oversight to ensure the appropriate resources are applied to surface and analyze trends, identify root causes of issues, and make improvement recommendations and/or adjust targets as appropriate. Translates internal and external research and trends into actionable brand strategies. Analyzes data to frame up a business issue/concept; determines feasibility and understands how to operationalize the concept; converts research data into actionable options for moving the brands forward. Educates/communicates on brand strategy, positioning, voice, strategic pillars and competitive environment. Partners with Owner and Franchise Services on global brand owner communications, key owner account management, and oversees the planning and execution of global brand owner meetings. Brand Performance & Development Owns end-to-end brand innovation process outcomes across brands within the assigned portfolio of brands. Develops clear applications of business and brand strategies that can be translated by other functions into tactical implementation. Establishes, communicates and coordinates work priorities to achieve the brand strategies. Serves as the primary point of contact for the assigned portfolio to ensure that new brand strategies and initiatives are being designed and deployed within market effectively. Regularly interfaces with AVPs and other market resources to better understand environmental/regional factors impacting current and future brand initiatives and standards and to provide regular brand updates. Champions brands GM advisory board, or related forums, to align and obtain input and feedback on strategies, initiatives and general brand priorities. Monitors collective impact of all innovations/products/services to ensure they achieve overall objectives outlined in the Brand Business Plan, while maintaining the integrity of the Brand Business Model. Brand Growth & Development Identifies opportunities to strategically grow the assigned portfolio for Company International. Partners with development to develop and oversee the execution of strategic growth pipelines in key markets for the brands he/she supports. Works with development team to produce toolkits and resources, conducts owner brand immersions and site visits to support development in securing on-strategy projects for the brand Ensures that business model, positioning and core proof points are clearly articulated for their brands, understood by key stakeholders and scalable to drive system growth. Provides opening support for new hotels; coordinates with openings and regional teams to ensure all elements of the opening countdown including training, culture day , etc. are executed on-strategy. Provides guidance to opening teams to ensure branded critical path document for openings and conversions are developed and maintained. Leads strategic research and insights work to test, pilot, and implement brand extensions (ie, retail) for key brands Stakeholder Relations Provides executive partnership with key stakeholders to ensure execution, including but not limited to: Marketing & PR, A&C, Style & Design, Culture & Operations, Creative, Sales, and each of the key leaders in the continents. Drives the organizational alignment and accountability for successful outcomes of brand initiatives with the market, and other functional areas; ensures strategies address relevant stakeholder needs and competitive environment; executes accordingly. Establishes and execute a communication platform for the brand with General Managers and other key hotel and market stakeholders. Represent the brand portfolio during General Managers Conferences and other key conferences. Creates informal mentor relationships with other brand representatives to create a climate of teamwork and learning. Leading and Managing Teams Creates a synergistic leadership team and business environment that encourages accountability, high standards, and innovation to consistently deliver positive business results. Hires, develops, and retains diverse talent that makes a strong, positive impact on the organization. Sets clear organizational goals and expectations for direct reports using the performance review process and holds team accountable for performance. Continuously improves team and job structures and ensures clear leadership accountabilities are in place. Builds teams with the appropriate mix of talent and skills to drive innovation and performance. Identifies talents of direct reports and assists with their growth and development plans. Managing and Conducting Human Resources Activities Interviews and hires employees. Promotes the fair and equitable treatment of employees. Facilitates regular, ongoing communication in department (eg, staff meetings). Fosters employee commitment to providing excellent service, participates in daily stand-up meetings and models desired service behaviors in all interactions with customer and employees. Incorporates customer satisfaction as a component of staff/operations meetings with an emphasis on generating innovative ways to continually improve results. Sets goals and expectations for direct reports using the performance review process and holds staff accountable for performance goals. Solicits employee feedback. Utilizes an open door policy and reviews employee satisfaction results to identify and address employee problems or concerns Promotes adherence to policies consistently, follows disciplinary procedures and documents items according to Standard and Local Operating Procedures (SOPs and LSOPs) and supports the Peer Review Process. Conducts annual performance appraisal with direct reports according to Standard Operating Procedures. Champions change ensures brand and regional business initiatives are implemented and communicates follow-up actions to team as necessary. Identifies talents of direct reports and their teams and assists with their growth and development plans. CANDIDATE PROFILE Education and Experience Preferred 4-year degree from an accredited university in Business Administration, Marketing, or related major; MBA 16+ years of relevant professional experience in brand management, marketing, or related function; demonstrated progressive career growth and pattern of exceptional performance OR 18+ years of relevant professional experience in a related function, demonstrating progressive career growth and patterns of exceptional performance Prior track record of breakthrough consumer brand development Experience managing and defining transformational strategies for business units. Demonstrated ability to deliver results under difficult conditions, particularly when faced with complexity and ambiguity