Global hospitality company Hilton has announced the appointment of Lara Hernandez as senior vice president, human resources in Asia Pacific. Hernandez will be responsible for overseeing culture and talent development at Hilton from Hilton’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

Hernandez joins Hilton after a 12-year career at IHG, where she most recently served as the senior vice president, commercial and business performance for Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa. She replaces Brendan Toomey who is retiring after a nearly 40 year Hilton career having helped grow the region to almost 60,000 Team Members across all properties and corporate offices and see Hilton become #1 on Great Place to Work’s Best Workplaces in Asia list.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lara onboard the team, to continue spearheading the growth of our award-winning culture here in Asia Pacific. Lara brings with her a diverse perspective and rich global experience, which will be invaluable as we work towards doubling our workforce in Asia Pacific. Together, we will continue making progress towards being the number one hospitality company for our Team Members, guests, and owners,” said Alan Watts, area president, Asia Pacific, Hilton.

With more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry across the Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Hernandez has a strong track record of building teams across diverse cultures and geographies. For two decades, Hernandez has led teams across the hospitality industry, starting from frontline hotel operations, to leadership roles focused on sales and marketing, working closely with a variety of brands and ownership groups in both regional and global roles.

Based in Singapore, she will report to Matt Schuyler, chief human resources officer, Hilton, and will sit on the Asia Pacific leadership team under Alan Watts.