Names in the News – Business Travel Executive

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the appointment of Mark Sergot as its new chief development officer for the Americas. He has more than 25 years of industry experience in sales leadership roles across global hospitality organizations, according to the announcement. Sergot joined IHG in 2020 as vice president of global sales operations and enablement. Since 2022, he has led IHG’s global sales organization as senior vice president of global sales, overseeing the Americas and global accounts teams. Prior to IHG, Sergot spent more than 16 years with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

Conferma, a virtual payments platform owned by Sabre, has named Mark Ledsham as CEO. Most recently, he was COO of Currencycloud, a global payments platform. He has also served as CEO of Xe.com, an online foreign exchange company.

Minor Hotels has appointed Amir Golbarg as COO – Middle East & Africa. He joined the company in 2012 as director of operations and hotel openings in Bangkok. After leaving Minor, he returned to the group in 2019 as vice president of operations – Middle East & Africa.

Left Lane Development, a New York-based real estate development and hospitality firm specializing in the transformation of historic properties, announced the promotion of three senior executives the company created an independent new hotel brand with the launch of Hotel Bardo in  Savannah in 2024 The firm’s current pipeline includes hotel projects in Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Phoenix, AZ; Bozeman, MT; and a second property in Savannah, The appointments include:

• Ryan Davis has been appointed chief revenue officer of LEFT LANEWith more than 20 years of experience in luxury lifestyle and boutique hospitality, Davis has held senior leadership roles at Sage Hospitality Group, high-end resort portfolios, and global membership-based travel brands such as Inspirato and Exclusive Resorts.
• Valerie Shell has been appointed senior vice president of sales. She brings more than 15 years of luxury hospitality experience, including over a decade with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
• Vanessa Tilley has been appointed vice president of brand & marketing. According to the announcement, she has played a central role in shaping the vision and launch of Hotel Bardo Savannah.