LONDON— Richard North at the end of September will step down from his position as chief executive/director of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. David Webster, the non-executive chairman, will take on the role of interim chief executive. The move was mutually agreed upon by North and IHG’s non-executive board of directors, according to the company. In the almost two years he held the post, North was instrumental in wrangling IHG after it demerged from Six Continents and its pubs business. He reorganized the business, which includes the hotels company, represented by brands InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn Select and more recently, Candlewood Suites and the soon-to-be launched Hotel Indigo, and Britvic, a soft-drinks company. While North sought to strengthen the management team and set a new strategic direction focused on reducing capital expenditures and returning value to shareholders, IHG in a statement said now its “future is increasingly focused on growing our global brands in a predominantly managed and franchised hotel system. The execution of this strategy needs different leadership skills based on brand development and operations.” A search is under way for a successor and an appointment will be made as soon as possible, according to the company.