Chris Hartley
In 2004 Chris Hartley was one of the pioneers behind the launch of Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), and since 2006, has led its growth in forging a unique collaborative alliance, which enables independent, privately-owned hotel brands to compete with the world’s largest hotel companies.
Today GHA represents a collection of 40 brands with over 800 hotels in 100 countries and offers a shared loyalty platform to 23 million customers.
The award-winning GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme generates US$1.5 billion in annual revenue and six million room nights to its member brands.
From 2001-05, Chris was SVP Sales & Marketing for Kempinski Hotels based in Geneva. Chris joined Kempinski in 1996 and held several Marketing roles during a period of significant growth for the company, after it was sold by Lufthansa.
Chris started his career in 1991 doing management training for Forte Hotels in various luxury hotels in Milan, Paris, New York, Toronto and London, but he quickly migrated into corporate marketing, moving to Forte’s headquarters in London, where he was responsible for marketing and distribution for Forte Exclusive Hotels from 1992-96.
Chris heralds from the UK, and is a graduate of London University, where he obtained his Bachelors’ degree in French and German, before going on to complete his post-graduate studies in hotel business administration at Manchester University. He also holds an MBA from NEOMA Business School. Chris has lived and worked in Dubai since 2013.