Janis Cannon — Senior Vice President of Upscale Brands at Choice Hotels

Ms. Janis Cannon has been Senior Vice President of Upscale Brands at Choice Hotels International Inc. since April 2016. Ms. Cannon leads the growth strategy for Cambria hotels & suites and the Ascend Hotel Collection. She has expertise in branding, sales, marketing and hotel operations. She has nearly 25 years' experience in the hospitality industry. She served as a Vice President of Hotel Indigo Brand Management at Intercontinental Hotels Group plc and was global brand leader for its upscale portfolio developing and launching global brands and repositioning its largest upscale full service brand. Ms. Cannon served as Vice President, Brand Management of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, The Americas for Intercontinental Hotels Group plc. Ms. Cannon was responsible for overseeing and driving the successful implementation of marketing strategies and tactical marketing programs for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in the Americas to support its short- and long-term growth and profitability objectives. She developed overall profit growth strategies, including distribution methods and brand standards, as well as overseeing field marketing operations to ensure tactical and strategic plans are executed to maximize hotel profits in local, regional and national markets. Throughout her career, she has held several positions with Swissotel at the corporate level including senior vice president, Global Sales where she was responsible for owner and investor relationship management, and vice president, Americas Sales & Marketing where she established a regional sales and marketing structure. At the hotel level, Ms. Cannon served as general manager at Swissotel Buckhead where she was responsible for $26 million in annual sales and $9 million in annual profits. She served as director of sales and marketing at Swissotel Buckhead, leading the charge on creating forecasts, budgets and operational guidelines. Ms. Cannon also worked at several Holiday Inn properties in sales capacities. Prior to joining InterContinental Hotels Group, Ms. Cannon served as the Deputy Commissioner of Tourism for the Georgia Department of Economic Development where she was responsible for managing domestic and international marketing and promotional plans for Georgia's second largest industry. She began her career in the hospitality field in 1981 as a regional representative, Georgia Department of Industry and Trade where she was the state liaison for 29 counties in North Georgia. Ms. Cannon has received significant recognition in the hospitality industry. She was named by Travel Agent as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Travel and also received the American Express Silver Plume Award for General Manager of the Year. Ms. Cannon earned her B.F.A. in speech communications from Valdosta State University in Georgia.