Aimbridge Hospitality has named industry veterans Tiffany Cooper and Niall Kelly to its expanding global growth leadership team. Cooper joins as chief development officer – Americas & Caribbean and Kelly assumes the role of head of development – EMEA.
“I am delighted to welcome Tiffany and Niall to our global growth leadership team as we continue to evolve and strengthen strategies that directly support portfolio expansion and drive margin improvements for Aimbridge, our owners and brand partners,” said Allison Reid, chief global growth officer, Aimbridge. “Their unique combination of skills and deep expertise in their respective markets, along with successful runs in franchise, brand and real estate development are invaluable assets that will help fuel Aimbridge’s continued growth on a global scale.”
Cooper brings nearly three decades of sales and marketing, operations and development experience to Aimbridge. In her new role, she leads the deal team and will implement plans that support the company’s strategic vision of growing its portfolio mix and global footprint across the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. She most recently served as head of development, North America and Caribbean for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, where she was responsible for delivering growth to the Kimpton brand by expanding its development pipeline and national presence through new hotel projects.
She began her hospitality career with Kimpton in sales in 1995 and rose through positions at top global hotel companies, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where she managed property sales teams, as well as led development opportunities for the Western U.S. for the Real Estate Group. Post-merger with Marriott International, Cooper joined the development team to assist the expansion of Marriott’s full-service and luxury brand footprint.
In his new position, Kelly leads Aimbridge’s European development team and unit growth in a strategically important market for the company. He brings more than 25 years of significant deal-making experience with more than 220 hotel transactions involving deal negotiation and deal structuring in international markets. Most recently, he served as a development consultant to Marriott International, undertaking various deal structures from complex leases and residential deals to management and franchise.
Prior to his consulting work, Kelly served as VP, development-EMEA for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, where he oversaw the significant growth of Starwood’s brand presence in Europe, including the introduction of new brands like W, Aloft and Element. His responsibilities incorporated the full range of development activities from franchise and management contract negotiation through individual asset and portfolio acquisitions.
