8 Key Moments During Keith Barr's Reign at IHG

InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Keith Barr announced he would be leaving his role at the UK-based company at his company's first-quarter earnings call on May 5.

Barr, who led IHG for six years, cited his family during the earnings call as a major reason he was stepping down as CEO after spending more than three decades in the industry. His decision also came a month after he described the UK stock market as being unattractive for listed companies.

So Skift is looking back at Barr’s time at the helm of IHG, where he served as chief commercial officer for four years before succeeding Richard Simmons in 2017. We've already done a feature on his legacy on IHG, and here's a list of eight important developments during Barr's reign as CEO, including its expansion in Asia and growth in the luxury sector.

More than two-and-a half years after IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, IHG announced in October 2017 that it would merge the two companies' loyalty programs by the beginning of the following year. All Kimpton Karma Rewards were automatically enrolled into the IHG Rewards Club, which was considered the world's largest hotel loyalty program in terms of membership numbers. Skift had reported that a failure to bring Kimpton's loyalty members into its portfol