Merrillville, Indiana, United States, January 2026 — White Lodging has appointed Joanne Durkel as Vice President, Field Human Resources. In her new leadership role, Durkel will oversee field HR strategy and execution, strengthening people practices across White Lodging’s hospitality portfolio with a focus on talent capability, engagement, and operational excellence.
Before stepping into this Vice President role, Joanne Durkel served at White Lodging for nearly two years, most recently as Senior Director, Field Human Resources. In this capacity, she supported field HR leadership and played a key role in aligning people initiatives with business priorities across the organization’s hotel operations.
Prior to joining White Lodging, Durkel built a long and impactful HR career at NiSource, where she spent over 18 years in progressive HR and leadership roles. Most recently, she served as Director, Compensation, leading compensation strategy and related programs. Earlier, she worked as Director & HR Business Partner, supporting strategic business partnership and driving people initiatives across the organization.
Over her tenure at NiSource, she also held multiple HR leadership assignments including Human Resources Manager, Lead Human Resource Consultant, Senior HR Consultant, Human Resource Consultant, and Human Resource Specialist—building deep expertise in HR consulting, employee relations, performance management, leadership development, and enterprise HR program execution. She began her professional journey as a Contract Specialist, developing strong foundational experience in structured business operations and stakeholder coordination.
Durkel holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Indiana University Northwest.
About White Lodging
White Lodging, established in 1985 by hospitality leader Bruce White, is one of the largest privately held hospitality companies in the United States focused on highly curated urban and lifestyle properties. The company develops, owns, and manages premium hospitality destinations across key markets including Austin, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Indianapolis, and Louisville.
White Lodging has been recognized for its culture and engagement, including being named a winner of the 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for employee engagement. Its portfolio includes 60+ premium hotels, a private collection of luxury ranches, 50 award-winning restaurants, and 10 rooftop bars, and the organization ranks among the top 10 in J.D. Power’s Guest Satisfaction Benchmark for third-party management companies.
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