Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH)—one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors—has appointed Noha Abdalla to the role of chief marketing officer, reporting directly to President and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pacious. As a key member of the senior executive team, Abdalla will be a champion for the guest experience, leading the company’s marketing, advertising, communications, and brand-building functions to advance Choice’s corporate strategy across guest touchpoints. She will also help develop a future state technology and infrastructure roadmap for Choice’s marketing vision, working closely with the leadership team and key organizations across the company to support future growth objectives.
“Enhancing the guest experience is a cornerstone of Choice’s long-term growth strategy and a critical component of the leading value proposition we deliver for our franchisees daily,” said Pacious. “Noha is an experienced leader with a successful track record of taking world-class brands to the next level. As the company continues to add new experiences and offerings for travelers, we’re confident she is the best person to keep Choice’s finger on the pulse of evolving consumer preferences while driving loyalty and innovation to support our diverse portfolio of brands.”
Abdalla has more than 20 years of experience shaping business strategies and marketing solutions for several of the world’s most well-known organizations. She joins Choice Hotels from MyEyeDr.—a Goldman Sachs-equity-backed optical company with more than 800 locations nationwide—where she served as chief marketing officer. In this capacity, Abdalla led the company’s first-ever marketing transformation to launch a new CRM (customer relationship management) system, online booking platform, patient portal and in-house media planning and buying function. Prior, Abdalla led all digital-owned channels and oversaw all digital marketing communications as the global vice president of digital and content marketing for Hilton. Earlier in her career, Abdalla held roles of increasing responsibility on Capital One’s digital brand strategy and social media team, as well as Discovery Inc.’s Animal Planet marketing department.
“Choice Hotels has a proud history of pioneering industry innovations to enhance guests’ entire travel journey – from the initial shopping and booking experience to check-out and beyond,” said Abdalla. “We know today’s customer is more informed and has more choices available to them than ever before, and I am honored to work in lockstep with the company’s key stakeholders to build on this rich legacy as we curate next-generation products and experiences that resonate with guests of today and tomorrow.”
Abdalla earned a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in international economics from Georgetown University.
