IHG Hotels & Resorts appoints new director of corporate affairs for SEA

IHG Hotels & Resorts has promoted Charlene Tan to director, corporate affairs, Southeast Asia and Korea, after more than five years leading communications for the region.

Based in Singapore, Tan was previously senior manager, corporate affairs, Southeast Asia and Korea, a role she held since 2020.

Announcing the promotion on LinkedIn, Tan reflected on her journey with the hospitality group, saying she had the opportunity to work alongside talented teams while helping to grow IHG's brands, strengthen its reputation and drive colleague engagement across diverse markets.

She added that being able to tell stories about travel, destinations and hotel experiences every day has been a rewarding experience, and that she looks forward to contributing to the next phase of IHG's regional growth.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Tan for comment. 

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In her previous role, Tan led IHG's corporate affairs strategy across 10 markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea. She also served as communications business partner to the regional leadership team, supporting key business priorities while overseeing reputation management, employee engagement and corporate communications.

Her remit also included developing market-specific communications strategies, overseeing regional storytelling across areas such as travel trends, sustainability, talent and social impact, as well as managing both internal communications teams and external PR agencies.

Among her notable achievements, Tan launched IHG's first Southeast Asia Communities Report in 2024, highlighting the group's impact on local communities. She also spearheaded the company's first East Asia and Pacific Communities Report in 2025, expanding the initiative across the wider region.

Beyond external communications, Tan established IHG's first structured mentoring programme for its global communications function and East Asia and Pacific division between 2023 and 2025, supporting the development of more than 100 colleagues. She also led the rollout of the company's public affairs strategy across Southeast Asia and Korea, strengthened relationships with government and industry stakeholders, and oversaw crisis communications and spokesperson training across the region.

Prior to joining IHG, Tan was PR and communications lead for Vrbo at Expedia Group. She also spent six years at Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, where she held roles including global director of marketing communications and global manager of marketing communications. Earlier in her career, she held marketing positions at Far East Organisation and City Developments.

At the end of 2025, IHG revealed plans to expand its hotel portfolio in Malaysia with the debut of three brands: Kimpton Naluria KL, Regent Kuala Lumpur at TRX, and voco Kuching. According to a report by The Edge, the openings marked IHG's return to Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak after more than a decade.

IHG currently operates 11 hotels in Singapore. Just last month, it was announced that Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre would be transformed and reopened as The Hari Singapore in spring 2027 under Harilela Hotels, in alliance with IHG.

In other recent communications industry appointments, AS Watson Group has named Queennie Fung (pictured) as general manager, group corporate communications. Fung will lead the strategic development of the group's global corporate communications agenda, with a focus on strengthening AS Watson's brand positioning, reputation and stakeholder engagement across its 31 markets.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, OSK Group appointed Amelia Lim as head of group corporate communications. Bringing more than two decades of experience in corporate storytelling and reputation management, Lim officially assumed the role on 2 January 2026.

In Indonesia, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) named Ovidia Nomia senior vice president, head of corporate communications, as the company sharpened its focus on communications as a strategic function amid its transformation into an AI-driven organisation.

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