Hilton has announced the appointments of Navjit Ahluwalia as senior vice president and country head, India, and Jatin Khanna as vice president and head of operations, India.
Effective immediately, Ahluwalia will oversee Hilton’s 33 hotels trading and under development, including the recently opened Conrad Bengaluru, while leading the company’s growth strategy in the country.
Khanna, who assumes his position next month, takes over operations from Andre Gomez, who will be moving to a new role elsewhere in the company.
“India is swiftly becoming one of the fastest growing travel and tourism markets in the world.
“As we seek to rapidly expand in the country, there is a need to grow our leadership team to ensure we continue to deliver best-in-class hospitality, in addition to ramping up our pipeline,” said Alan Watts, executive vice president and president, Hilton, Asia Pacific.
“Having recently joined Hilton myself, I am excited to embark on the next chapter of our journey in India with Navjit and Jatin, both industry veterans well-known for their accomplishments.”
Ahluwalia, an Indian native, brings to Hilton 30 years of hospitality experience, including over 13 years at Marriott International where he held key leadership roles, the most recent being senior vice president responsible for expanding the company’s portfolio in South Asia.
Also an Indian native, Khanna holds over 20 years of operations experience, including with both IHG and most recently Marriott International, where he managed Marriott’s full portfolio in Bengaluru city as vice president, Bengaluru and general manager for the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel.
“I am thrilled to join Hilton at such an exciting time for our economy and for the Indian hospitality sector.
“India will offer the greatest growth opportunities as our demographics come of age, giving a new fillip to domestic consumption and taking advantage of rising travel the world over,” said Ahluwalia.
“As a sector, we will also contribute strongly to job creation and a global leader like Hilton is ideally positioned to create unique value.
“I look forward to expanding the Hilton footprint in the country and to working closely with Jatin to continue creating exceptional experiences for our guests.”
Both Ahluwalia and Khanna will be based in Hilton’s India regional office in Gurgaon.