Loews Hotels & Resorts has tapped industry veteran Kirk Kinsell to head the hospitality arm of the Tisch family empire, ending Paul Whetsell’s three-year run at the helm as the business eyes overseas expansion.

With 35 years in the hospitality industry--notably with InterContinental Hotels Group--Kinsell has demonstrated his ability to scale up in a hard-fought marketplace. Kinsell recently oversaw a portfolio of over 3,700 IHG hotels in North and South America, including brands such as Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. Loews chairman Jonathan Tisch told Bloomberg that Kinsell’s know-how will help the company grow beyond its 23 North American hotels, singling out London and Paris as prime targets.

The hospitality industry is just one of the Loews stomping grounds. The family patriarch Larry Tisch and brother Bob built Loews into a $70B conglomerate that today includes insurer CNA Financial, deepwater drilling company Diamond Offshore and Boardwalk Pipeline.