Accor Names Gilda Perez-Alvarado Chief Strategy Officer

In October, Gilda Perez-Alvarado was named the group chief strategy officer of Accor SA, the largest hospitality company in Europe, which manages, franchises and invests in hotels, resorts, vacation properties and hospitality concepts worldwide. Based in Paris, Perez-Alvarado is responsible for overseeing global strategy, relationships with owners and strategic partnerships.

According to her LinkedIn, prior to joining Accor, she was the global chief executive officer of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, where she was responsible for investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management across three global regions: Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Additionally, Perez-Alvarado led the group’s global hotel desk, a specialized team of cross-border investment sales professionals based in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe.

Perez-Alvarado also serves on the board of directors of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, is a member of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, and is an active member of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council, a member of Cornell School of Hotel Administration Dean’s Advisory Board, a member of WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate, and a member of the World Travel and Tourism Council. Up until October, Gilda served on the board of directors of Sonder.

She is also a two-time recipient (2016 and 2021) of the prestigious Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. She remains the only woman to date to receive this award. She is also a recipient of the 2021 Castell Award, which honors a woman leader in the hospitality investment arena, and the recipient of JLL’s 2023 Champion of Excellence Award.

Gilda received her executive MBA degree from Instituto de Empresa (IE Business School) in Madrid, Spain in 2010. In 2002, Gilda received her bachelor of science degree from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York, where she graduated with honors and served as degree marshal for her graduating class. Her specialization was in hotel real estate finance. Gilda has also attended executive education courses on competitive strategy, leadership, and sustainability at INSEAD, Stanford School of Business, and the University of Cambridge, respectively.