An appointment to strengthen operational leadership at Iconic Hotels & Resorts
Officially announced on 13 October 2026, the appointment of Michelle Walder forms part of efforts to strengthen the leadership team at Iconic Hotels & Resorts.
The hotel collection, owned and operated by London + Regional Hotels, intends to continue investing in its people, operational organisation and long-term growth strategy.
Michelle Walder takes up the position of Group Director of Operations, reporting directly to Shan Kanagasingham, Chief Operating Officer.
Her responsibilities will include overseeing the performance of the group’s UK properties, supporting hotel general managers and maintaining service standards.
This group-wide role is also intended to strengthen operational consistency across the portfolio while preserving the individual characteristics of the collection’s properties.
Her LinkedIn profile indicates that she took up the position in September 2026, ahead of the official announcement in October.
From Hyatt to Iconic Hotels & Resorts: expertise in multi-property operations
Before joining Iconic Hotels & Resorts, Michelle Walder had held the position of Head of Operations, The Lifestyle Group, for Europe, Africa and the Middle East at Hyatt since June 2024.
Her professional background also includes a role as Vice President of Operations, Europe, at Standard International, between June 2024 and August 2025.
These positions gave her experience of international lifestyle brands, whose development requires a balance between brand identity, service quality and operational performance.
The dates listed for her roles at Hyatt and Standard International partially overlap. They are reproduced here as stated in her professional profile, without making assumptions about the nature of this overlap.
Previously, Michelle Walder served as General Manager of The Twenty Two in London from June 2023 to June 2024.
She also held the position of Development and Project Director at Sydell Group between February 2022 and June 2023, following an operational leadership assignment at NoMad London.
Her career therefore combines hotel operations, project development and the management of upscale properties.
The NoMad New York: a formative experience
A significant part of Michelle Walder’s career was spent at The NoMad Hotel New York.
After holding various positions in rooms division and front office operations, she progressed to General Manager.
The property comprised 168 luxury guestrooms, a 140-seat fine-dining restaurant and a bar recognised on New York’s hospitality scene.
Her responsibilities encompassed all hotel functions: finance, sales, human resources, maintenance, revenue management, guest experience, events, capital investment and budgeting.
Before the pandemic, the property employed approximately 320 people.
Michelle Walder also participated in several hotel opening and operational support assignments across the Sydell Group portfolio, notably at The Ned London, The LINE Washington DC, NoMad Las Vegas and Freehand New York.
During the pandemic, she contributed to adapting food and beverage operating models and managing hotel closures and reopenings.
This experience enabled her to develop an in-depth understanding of profitability, workforce management and operational adaptability within lifestyle hospitality.
Hotel openings and repositioning projects across London, New York and Miami
Michelle Walder’s career also includes several landmark lifestyle hospitality projects.
In London, she was involved in preparations for the opening of The Ned, a 272-room property featuring nine restaurants, wellness facilities and a private members’ club.
Her responsibilities included preparing operating budgets, establishing operational procedures and recruiting rooms division teams.
In New York, she served as Director of Operations for The New York EDITION during the opening of the 273-room hotel.
In Miami Beach, she was General Manager of Casa Faena, undertaking an assignment that included the refurbishment and repositioning of the historic 50-room hotel.
These experiences have given her exposure to several stages of the hotel asset lifecycle: pre-opening, commercial launch, operations, refurbishment and repositioning.
Her career also includes positions with André Balazs Properties, notably at The Standard High Line and The Mercer Hotel, as well as experience with Morgans Hotel Group.
A graduate of the École hôtelière de Lausanne, she states that she has been involved in opening eight luxury and lifestyle properties during her career.
Operational leadership focused on portfolio performance
At Iconic Hotels & Resorts, Michelle Walder will apply this experience within an organisation comprising several upscale properties.
At group level, an operations director’s responsibilities typically include supporting hotel general managers in delivering commercial, financial and service quality objectives.
The role also involves monitoring operational performance, resource management and the investment required to maintain each property’s market positioning.
In luxury hospitality, these challenges are particularly complex: the pursuit of efficiency must not compromise personalised service or the individual identity of each hotel.
The recruitment of Michelle Walder, whose career combines general management, multi-property operations and development projects, addresses these two requirements.
Iconic Hotels & Resorts has not disclosed any quantified financial targets associated with her appointment.
LTH Analysis | A strategic role bridging asset performance and operational excellence
Michelle Walder’s appointment illustrates the importance of operational leadership in strategies aimed at enhancing the value of upscale hotel portfolios. Her experience of openings, repositioning projects and managing complex properties is particularly relevant to a group that both owns and operates its hotels. The challenge will be to identify opportunities for shared resources and margin improvement without weakening the individual commercial identities of the properties. Her familiarity with lifestyle hospitality could also help strengthen the performance of non-room revenue activities, particularly food and beverage and events. For Iconic Hotels & Resorts, value creation will depend on translating this operational expertise into sustained improvements in EBITDA and service quality.
At a Glance
Appointment: Michelle Walder named Group Director of Operations at Iconic Hotels & Resorts.
Announcement: 13 October 2026; her professional profile indicates a September 2026 start.
Reporting line: Shan Kanagasingham, Chief Operating Officer.
Group: Iconic Hotels & Resorts, part of privately owned London + Regional Hotels.
Experience: More than 28 years in international luxury and lifestyle hospitality.
Previous roles: Hyatt, Standard International, The Twenty Two, Sydell Group and The NoMad New York.
Operational background: Hotel openings, repositioning, general management and multi-property operations.
Education: EHL Hospitality Business School, Lausanne.
Responsibilities: Operational performance and service standards across the group’s UK hotel portfolio.
