Published on
September 30, 2025
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), which holds the title of the biggest alliance comprising independent hotel brands, recently publicized major changes within their leader crew. The intent of these changes is to promote innovation, support customer interaction, and guarantee operational proficiency within the organization as it grows. Steve Ayalo previously held the positions of Vice President, IT Governance, Risk and Compliance, and is now promoted to Vice President of Information Technology. Matthew Lloyd has filled the open role of Vice President, Marketing Technology & CRM (Customer Relationship Management). This particular strategy is GHA’s undertaking which bulks up their digital customer interaction along with their infrastructure.
Promoting IT Governance and Risk Management
Steve Ayalo, who has been with GHA since 2015, has played a crucial role in shaping the company’s IT and cybersecurity strategy. His expertise in risk management, data privacy, compliance, and cloud security has helped establish GHA’s robust cybersecurity and compliance frameworks. Under his leadership, the company set up a cybersecurity operations center and implemented threat intelligence services to ensure secure digital operations.
In his new position as Vice President of IT Governance, Risk & Compliance, Ayalo will focus on overseeing ISO certification efforts and continuing GHA’s enterprise IT strategy. He will also lead the organization’s information security risk management functions. His role will be central in driving GHA’s efforts to maintain regulatory compliance across its business units while enhancing cyber resilience and managing incident response planning.
Leading Marketing Innovation and CRM Strategy
Matthew Lloyd, appointed Vice President of Marketing Technology & CRM, has been with GHA since 2018. He brings over a decade of experience in the travel industry, having previously worked with Hilton and Southwest Airlines. Lloyd’s leadership in GHA’s marketing technology and customer engagement strategies has been pivotal in the company’s success. His efforts have transformed the company’s customer data platform and enhanced its loyalty marketing through data-driven innovation.
Lloyd’s new role will see him expand his leadership in shaping GHA’s marketing department. He will be responsible for driving cross-functional collaboration and mentoring future leaders to strengthen GHA’s marketing capabilities. His deep focus on customer experience and innovative solutions has helped position GHA as a leader in loyalty marketing and MarTech integration within the hospitality sector.
Strengthening GHA’s Future Growth
Both appointments are part of GHA’s broader strategy to scale and innovate as it continues to expand its footprint in the global hospitality industry. Chris Hartley, CEO of GHA, emphasized the importance of these leadership changes in reinforcing the company’s commitment to its technology and loyalty marketing leadership.
As the company works towards further growth, these leadership changes are expected to foster a stronger digital and customer-focused strategy. The promotions of Ayalo and Lloyd are set to drive GHA’s continued success, particularly in enhancing the guest experience and integrating cutting-edge technology into its operations.
Guide for Travelers
GHA continues to offer their customers new and interesting features, as well as improvements to their already existing loyalty programs and customer service. Guests can rest assured their data privacy and data security is safeguarded when booking through the optimized network of independent hotels GHA offers, thanks to Ayalo’s leadership in cybersecurity. GHA’s focused customer engagement strategy offers travelers a much more personal, enriched, and data driven experience with their brands. GHA’s new technologies enables the company to tailor its customers offers and thus rewarding its members which is very exciting. GHA’s evolving offerings promise improvements added to the loyalty programs and customer service.
source: Global Hotel Alliance
