Saying he had been considering it for quite a while, Andy Cosslett announced early this morning he would be stepping down as chief executive officer of the United Kingdom-based InterContinental Hotels Group on June 30. IHG Chairman David Webster announced current Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial Development Richard Solomons would take over on July 1.

Andy Cosslett

Cosslett said he doesn’t currently have any plans going forward and the time was right for a change. “After going at full throttle for over 30 years, I’m going to take pause for a while and take stock of the different options ahead,” he said during a conference call this morning in the UK.

“I wanted to leave things in the best possible shape,” said Cosslett, who at age 55 has been CEO since 2005. “The financial crisis is past, it’s really a coming together of a number of things … We’ve seen through the relaunch of Holiday Inn—the biggest thing the industry has ever done—and the results were excellent. With that turned a page, closed a chapter and it was a good time.”

Solomons, 49, has been with IHG since 1992 and Webster said although the board reviewed both internal and external candidates, Solomons was the only choice.

“We have an able and worthy successor,” he said. “Richard is a highly respected executive, with deep knowledge of our industry, our business and our brands. He is the board’s first choice to take the company forward.”

Richard Solomons

Solomons has not been a behind-the-scenes CFO, taking an active role at IHG’s annual conferences. Cosslett said Solomons had a great relationship with IHG’s biggest owners and Webster cited his deep understanding of the company from his experience in various senior positions.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the world’s largest hotel company and look forward to working with the team to take IHG on the next leg of our journey,” Solomons said.

Cosslett didn’t have executive hotel experience when he joined IHG after 14 years with Cadbury Schweppes, where he served in various senior marketing and management positions. But Cosslett helped evolve IHG into an asset-light company, led the global relaunch of 3,200 Holiday Inn properties, including the removal of 1,200, and was honored last year at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference with the Stephen W. Brener Lodging Hospitality Silver Plate Award, one of the industry’s top honors.

“While we understand and respect his decision to leave at this stage, we are extremely sorry to see him go,” Webster said.

Cosslett wouldn’t rule out a return to another CEO type position, but said he really hadn’t thought about it and was looking forward to a break from the extensive travel required in his position.

“I’ve been globetrotting for 24 years, non stop, so I want to let my brain settle in and see what to do next,” he said. “We’ll see.”