Christine Choquel is deputy group chief technology officer at Accor, a global hospitality group consisting of more than 5,300 properties in 110 countries. She joined the company in 2018 as chief digital officer of subsidiary onefinestay, a luxury vacation rental enterprise.

In 2021, she was named senior vice president of IT strategy and performance at Accor and was promoted to her current position one year ago. In her 25-year career, she has served as a consultant and held a variety of corporate and start-up technology leadership positions. She also has worked in a number of industries, including manufacturing and retail. She is a member of Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) and represents Accor at Cigref, the leading French forum for the discussion of digital technology and the economy.

At Accor, she is heavily involved in leveraging technology that improves the guest journey. “Since the pandemic, we’ve increasingly turned to contactless solutions that not only help guests feel safer but also enable hotel staff to focus on higher quality interactions with customers,” she said. Projects included the introduction of digital keys and digital menus as well as the delivery of a more seamless check-in experience at the company’s hotels and restaurants.

Choquel currently is supporting Accor’s move to the cloud, an enormous project considering that the company has a global footprint and a number of data centers.

“Our goal is to become more agile, flexible and secure,” she said. “We want to be able to open hotels in a day and optimize costs.” The project began last year with the objective of moving all the company’s assets to the cloud within five years.

At the same time, Accor is rolling out a Zero Trust security model across its hotel portfolio. “We’re combining cloud technology and a Zero Trust framework with an agile approach that enables the rapid onboarding of hotels, staff and consultants in a remote working distributive environment.”

Additionally, Choquel is supporting the company’s initiative to migrate hotel property management systems to the cloud. “Cloud PMS enablement will give us the ability to integrate with more partners, benefit from innovation, and roll out guest programs quickly,” she said.

One of Choquel’s major achievements has been the launch of Objective and Key Results (OKR) methodology in Accor’s tech departments. The framework, which has been used by Google for many years, helps teams and organizations define measurable goals and track outcomes. “We’re using this framework to drive alignment around our strategic objectives,” she concluded. “It involves new ways of thinking and working, but in the end it will keep staff motivated, help us attract high-quality talent, and enable us to innovate more effectively.”

CHRISTINE’S BEST:

• Family: Married with two children.
• Hobbies: Playing the piano and knitting. “Both are very relaxing.”
• Go-To Periodical or Website: TTSO: Time to Sign Off, a daily newsletter that covers the most relevant topics of the day. “It’s great for people who don’t have time to read the newspaper regularly.”
• Book: 1984 by George Orwell. “It’s a page-turner and a visionary and frightening portrayal of the future.”
• Music: Rock & roll and French electropop.
• Travel Destination: Sweden. “My husband is half Swedish, so Sweden is our go-to destination. It’s where we make many of our family memories.”
• Advice to Young People: “Find out what you’re good at and then nurture that talent. And for young girls, don’t be shy. If you want to study math and science, do it.”
• Dinner With: Marie Curie. “I find her so inspiring. She was a scientist, a leader, a wife and a mother, and she had to struggle in a man’s world to get recognized.”