In December 2020, the HSMAI Region Europe Nomination Committee asked the HSMAI Region Europe members to nominate suitable individuals for a Board of Directors position. Since then, a lot of nominations have been received for which we are incredibly grateful!

As a result, the House of Delegates met in an extraordinary meeting and elected the following members to the Board of Directors of HSMAI Region Europe for two years:

  • Chair: Michael Nowlis, Independent Consultant, former Associate Dean at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management
  • Paul Proctor, Vice President – Commercial Europe at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
  • Monique Jaspers-Wijn, Global Head of Data Insights & Digital Media Travelport at Travelport
  • Per Griwell, VP Commercial / CCO, Business Development & Franchise at Thon Hotels
  • Markus Keller, Senior VP Sales & Distribution at Accor
  • Roberta Possenti, Vice President Europe at Preferred Hotels

In addition, HSMAI Region Europe have made special appointments to the following individual/companies as board members for one year:

  • Guy Barnes, Area Vice President Growth, EMEA at IDeaS
  • Michael Schaffner, VP Sales EMEA at Duetto
  • Gino Angels, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at OTA Insight

“As the global hospitality industry emerges from the most difficult period of the last half century, sales and marketing will be critical functions in restoring the sector to profitability. HSMAI Region Europe will play a leading role in driving industry renewal and growth. I am humbled to have been selected to chair the HSMAI board and support a talented executive team in these challenging but exciting times.”
Michael Nowlis, Independent Consultant, former Associate Dean at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and Chair of the HSMAI Region Europe Board of Directors

At the same time, HSMAI Region Europe has renewed a long-term contract with Ingunn Hofseth and her team.

“As former leader of HSMAI Holland and co-founder of HSMAI Region Europe, I am very excited to see how the organization has transformed itself over the past few years. From a few individually operating National chapters into a truly integrated and extremely active Pan European organization focusing on the development of the European hospitality industry as a whole. And all this under the supervision of Ingunn Hofseth with whom I have been working closely together for many years now. Besides being an extremely focused and natural professional, Ingunn is a strong believer in the power of relationships and the necessary communication, trust and appreciation they need in order to make them successful and achieve great results. As such I cannot think of a person more suitable to lead HSMAI Region Europe into an even more successful future as its President and CEO than Ingunn Hofseth”
Hans Poortvliet, Former Leader of HSMAI Holland and Member of the HSMAI Region Europe Nomination Committee

“This prestigious leadership opportunity is open to any HSMAI member in the UK and across Europe looking to be part of the team working on the strategic direction of the industry in the post-pandemic era as the hospitality industry embarks on its business recovery. Whilst 60% of board positions are made up of those working directly in the hospitality industry in the region, HSMAI Region Europe is particularly keen to ensure the board is made up of a complementary mix and diverse backgrounds and careers. Above all, all the board members will be passionate about helping to drive our industry forward and flourish in 2022 and beyond.”
Ingunn Hofseth, President & CEO for HSMAI Region Europe

The chair of the Nomination committee Martin Jørgensen announced today “I am thrilled to welcome these talented individuals. Their unique backgrounds and diverse experience will make them a great asset to the HSMAI Region Europe Board and the organization as a whole. We look forward to adding more people to the board later this summer and we will make sure we get a good balance of competence and gender. We are looking for individuals that can help us to continue to build on our strong culture on appreciative leadership”
Martin Jørgensen, CEO & Board member at Foodback and Former Chair of HSMAI Region Europe and Chair of the Nomination Committee

Due to our extensive and diverse activities and the many changes nationally and regionally, we would like to invite potential candidates for leadership positions within HSMAI Region Europe! We therefore encourage any member (supported by their HSMAI Region Europe member company) who is interested in serving on the European Board (now or in the future) to get involved in one of the many ways you can serve HSMAI. For a summary of the possibilities, please contact Ingunn Hofseth at email [email protected]

The Board of Directors of HSMAI Region Europe is responsible for guiding and providing input for the strategic direction of the association. HSMAI Region Europe has multiple units and leadership groups including expert communities, Advisory Boards and Councils, and special task forces.

The board meets face to face two times a year for a full day. In addition we plan one digital board meeting. Each board member is expected to attend all meetings and actively engage in a minimum of one committee, task force or Advisory Board during their term. Board members or board member companies are responsible for the costs of attending the meetings.

The European board will have up to 19 seats. An Executive Committee will also be elected out of the 19 board members. The HSMAI Region Europe Nomination Committee is responsible for developing a slate of candidates. A minimum of sixty percent of the board members must be working directly in the hotel and hospitality industry.

Please note: Nominations must be received no later than July 7th to be considered by the HSMAI Region Europe Nomination Committee. All candidates must be HSMAI Region Europe members in good standing (supported by their HSMAI Region Europe member company).

Please fill out this form and return to [email protected].

If you have any questions about this slate of nominations, please do not hesitate to contact our President & CEO, Ingunn Hofseth at [email protected]

About HSMAI Region Europe

HSMAI – Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International – is a global organisation founded in the US in 1927. HSMAI Region Europe is the European arm of the organisation. HSMAI Europe aims to be a key influencer, pioneer and the go-to industry resource for professional development, commercial strategies and sustainability in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. www.hsmai.eu.

Benedicte Gilroy Bøgh
HSMAI Europe