The Men And Women Who Run InterContinental Hotels

Updated

LONDON -- Management can make all the difference to a company's success and thus its share price.

The best companies are those run by talented and experienced leaders with strong vested interests in the success of the business, held in check by a board with sound financial and business acumen. Some of the worst investments to hold are those run by executives collecting fat rewards as the underlying business goes to pot.

In this series, I'm assessing the boardrooms of companies within the FTSE 100 (UKX). I hope to separate the management teams that are worth following from those that are not. Today, I am looking at InterContinental Hotels , the world's largest listed hotels group.


Here are the key directors:

Director

Position

Patrick Cescau

(non-exec) Chairman

Richard Solomons

Chief Executive

Tom Singer

Finance Director

Kirk Kinsell

President, Americas

Tracy Robbins

EVP, Human Resources

Patrick Cescau became chairman at the beginning of this year. A lifelong Unilever employee, he was its CEO from 2005 to 2008, and also served as its chairman and its finance director. His FTSE 100 directorships include International Airlines Group (which must have some interesting spin-offs), Tesco, and, previously, Pearson.

Asset light
A chartered accountant, Richard Solomons joined IHG predecessor Bass in 1992 after seven years as an investment banker with Hill Samuels. At IHG, he undertook finance and management roles including chief operating officer of the Americas division. He became finance director when IHG listed in 2003 and stepped up to the CEO role in July 2011.

As long-serving FD, Solomons is associated with IHG's asset light business model, and on his appointment to CEO described his role as ensuring "rigorous execution" in a "steady-state world." He has pushed IHG's strategy to enter China and India, and has successfully seen off activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Finance director
Tom Singer was finance director of Bupa prior to his appointed as Solomons' replacement in 2011. He had previously been FD and chief operating officer of William Hill, and FD of Moss Bros.

Kirk Kinsell joined IHG in 2002, joining the board in 2010 and assuming responsibility for the Americas in 2011. His earlier career was spent in the hotel and leisure sector in the U.S. Tracy Robbins also joined the board in 2011 after joining IHG in 2005. She has 27 years experience in HR at Compass, Forte Hotels, and Tesco.

IHG's six non-execs have mixed backgrounds. The three longest-serving were appointed between 2004 and 2005, so Solomons is the longest-serving director on this board, which the chairman and other executives have only joined in recent years.

Remuneration
The finance director has around 1 million pounds worth of shares, while the other executives have several millions worth. With a 2 million pounds total remuneration in 2012 and shares worth 5 million pounds, Tracy Robbins might well be the highest-paid FTSE 100 HR director.

I analyze management teams from five different angles to help work out a verdict. Here's my assessment:

1. Reputation. Management CVs and track record.

Very good.

Score 4/5

2. Performance. Success at the company.

Too early to judge.

Score 3/5

3. Board Composition. Skills, experience, balance

Reasonable.

Score 3/5

4. Remuneration. Fairness of pay, link to performance.

Looks on the high side, but uncontroversial.

Score 3/5

5. Directors' Holdings, compared to their pay.

Substantial.

Score 4/5

Overall, IHG scores 17 out of 25, a middling result. The CEO looks to be a safe pair of hands and board competent, but the team members are still relatively new in their present roles.

I've collated all my FTSE 100 boardroom verdicts on this summary page.

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The article The Men And Women Who Run InterContinental Hotels originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tony Reading and The Motley Fool have no position in any stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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