Age 55
Position Chief executive, InterContinental Hotels Group
Salary £826,000
As the world’s most populous nation, China is often viewed as glittering prize, ripe for plucking by eager Western businesses. The reality can be very different — just ask Google.
However, one company quietly making great strides in China is InterContinental Hotels Group, which has revealed plans to double its presence in the country to 250 hotels.
IHG already has a $1 billion (£660 million) business in China but for Andy Cosslett, chief executive of the world’s largest hotel company, there is more growth to go for. “We were first in there with the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing in 1984 and now we have a very, very large organisation there,” The company, which employs 40,000 in China, will add a further 87,000 staff over the next five years as it taps into the country’s expansion plans. Mr Cosslett described the planned investment in Chinese infrastructure as “mind blowing” with the Government investing $120 billion in its railway networks and opening 97 new airports.
A crucial factor in IHG’s success has been the relationships it has developed with local partners, which has given it a level of protection from some of the regulatory issues that have beset other foreign companies.
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Mr Cosslett, a Manchester United fan, joined InterContinental five and a half years ago. A brand marketing expert — he launched Wall’s Viennetta during his 11 years at Unilever — his focus recently has been on a $1 billion reinvigoration of the Holiday Inn chain that is due to be completed this year. “It had got a bit tired. We needed to freshen it up,” he said.
Mr Cosslett spent 14 years at Cadbury Schweppes during which time he ran its Australian business. The guitar-playing rugby fan is married with two children.