Eric Viale was previously the Area General Manager for Portugal and brings a wealth of experience to this new role from his 23 years in the hotel business. Over the last 15 years, he has worked in a multitude of positions within IHG, spanning commercial and operations leadership roles both in corporate offices and hotels. Viale will be responsible for driving commercial and operations performance across the Southern Europe franchised hotel estate, including key markets such as France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Both roles report to IHG Managing Director Europe, Karin Sheppard.