Skip to main content
Inspiring Women in Hospitality

Inspiring Women in Hospitality

By Naureen Ahmed

Naureen Ahmed shares stories of inspiring women from the hospitality industry. Why they got into hospitality, their career journey so far, their learnings and who inspires them.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

#158 Bettina Arguelles: There needs to be a shift. How can you be a chef and a sucesful one and not have the sacrifice the rest of your life

Inspiring Women in HospitalityMar 26, 2024

00:00
35:16
#158 Bettina Arguelles: There needs to be a shift. How can you be a chef and a sucesful one and not have the sacrifice the rest of your life

#158 Bettina Arguelles: There needs to be a shift. How can you be a chef and a sucesful one and not have the sacrifice the rest of your life

On this episode we hear from Bettina. Her first career was in advertising, second as a mother and third as a chef. She married and had children very young and what I admired about her own reflections on this time is how she grew as a person and built a family. She became a chef because culinary was her first passion, but being an Asian kid, she was not allowed to follow her passion at the time. With the support of her husband, another 'hospitality husband' she found the opportunity to study in culinary school in Singapore. Whilst she was trained in the classic French style, she was also taught the Asian cooking techniques, which she believes gave her an advantage. She shares an amazing story of a time she went to New York and knocked on Daniel Boulud's kitchen doors and asked for a couple of days of work experience. She describes this as a pivotal moment for her that changed her world. Today she is the Executive Chef at the Sofitel in Manila. She shares with us the joy she is experiencing today to be able to spend time with her kids as adults, going out, borrowing clothes and it is because she had her kids young. And as she reflects on her journey on this podcast, she shares that there is not a single thing that she would change.

Mar 26, 202435:16
#157 Bianca Harrison: I lead with compassion and believe in bringing people up with you.

#157 Bianca Harrison: I lead with compassion and believe in bringing people up with you.

On this episode we hear form Bianca. Whilst she was not traditionally academic, she loved talking to people and that made her a great candidate for hospitality. Her career in the industry started as a door girl at a night club in Brisbane and has taken her to Sydney, London and back. Her early career developed into a pattern of opening venues across various locations. Her second career has led her to recruitment and talent management. One difference she pointed out of people working in hospitality in Sydney vs London, was that in London it was a long-term career, not something one does just part time through uni. She shared the challenges that she faced being a woman in a male dominated hospitality industry was 'using her voice' and battling imposter syndrome. In terms of her own leadership style, I love how she describes as leading with compassion and bringing people up with you. It was after having children, she had to refocus her career which then drew her to recruitment, and which ended up being everything that she loved in terms of building teams and finding great talent. Also, we have another great example of hospitality husband who encouraged her to take the lead in her career.

Mar 19, 202426:59
#156 Sherry Marek: Pie charts and champagne

#156 Sherry Marek: Pie charts and champagne

On this episode we hear from Sherry. She starts her story by sharing that she grew up on a farm in Iowa and how inspired she was by her mother who started a catering business on the side. She started her career in hotels working in the corporate office of Hilton and Intercontinental. Then went on to start a business intelligence company with her husband, which they have just sold 29 years later. Now she is advocating to encourage more women into STEM. A theme that you will hear throughout her story is the people she met and the friends that she made around the world that kept her in hospitality. And now with a group of friends they make an annual trip together. She shares with us what motivated her to start her own business, and how the company evolved over the years and what strategy they applied. Growing the business globally and running a business with your partner. For her own career growths, she calls out some of the women who have supported her growth and sometimes they created roles together. One thing that she hopes for women to do is to acknowledge their accomplishments, and I could not agree more.

Mar 12, 202435:27
#155 Marion Barrère: Why can't you try something new, what is the risk at the end of the day? Challenge you to put yourself out there

#155 Marion Barrère: Why can't you try something new, what is the risk at the end of the day? Challenge you to put yourself out there

On this episode we hear from Marion. Fourth generation hotelier, hospitality was in her veins but initially she thought it was too easy to follow the family. During her studies her first internship ended up being in hospitality and went on to becoming a full-time role in London after graduating. And she shares how she was able to progress her career from executive in marketing to being part of the commercial team. She has now been a part of the Mr&Mrs Smith for the past 8 years and to her it’s like family. She shares that to progress your career is to take risks, put yourself out there and know your values. More recently she created her own new department and talks about the experience in putting this together, supported by the inspiring female leaders and peers of the organisation. And this new opportunity would not have been possible if she had not spoken up and shared her passions. She shares how trust comes hand in hand with empowering your teams. When it comes to leadership she draws on two strengths - empathy and self-reflection. Thank you for putting yourself outside of your comfort zone and sharing your story with us all.

Mar 05, 202431:22
#154 Gemma Greenwood: Just always give it a go. What is the worst thing that could happen? Nothing!

#154 Gemma Greenwood: Just always give it a go. What is the worst thing that could happen? Nothing!

On this episode we hear from Gemma. Editor and director of Content Inc, providing a range of content and communication solutions to the travel and hospitality industry. She happens to be a fitness instructor, which has come in handy when she needs to motivate an audience at a conference. Also, a mum of two, which she says is her most difficult and rewarding job. She tells us of her journey brining publications like Arabian Travel News and Hotelier Middle East to life. In this role she got to know so many people in the industry, and they are the ones who helped her fall in love with the industry. She went freelance when she had her kids and transitioned into communications for the hotel companies she had been interviewing in the past. When I asked her how she got started in the world of media, it was because she was a good at writing. One of her earlier jobs during her media career was being a fake contestant on the show 'Play your cards right.' Skills that she picked up during her time in media, like shorthand, still come to use today, although can sometimes be confused for Arabic. Her time in journalism once helped jail a prisoner because of the investigative report she wrote in a local newspaper. Her father used to say to her, always meet someone once because you don’t know what might come of it, is one of the many tips that Gemma has on networking.

Feb 27, 202438:30
#153 Jenn Boyles: It is important for girls to understand that they can do anything

#153 Jenn Boyles: It is important for girls to understand that they can do anything

On this episode we hear from Jenn. My second guest from the short term rental space and she tells us of her experience coming into hospitality. She is focused on helping owners in this space to get direct bookings rather than relying on the large online travel agents. Her father was a hotel manager, so her first work experiences was in hotels and she learnt first-hand how hard the work can be, but she did like the sales and marketing side of things. So, she went into publishing in London after graduating from university and at one point was working at British Vogue. Her first foray into short term rental was putting a flat in France on Airbnb. It was through the chalet she had in Austria is where she leant into her previous marketing skills to build a brand and get direct bookings. Some of the key things she shares to attract direct booking are - start with a website and then comes the marketing (social, email, content etc). Her motivation for starting her own business has a lot to do with being a role model for her daughter and showing that you can do anything. In fact, she says that some of the changes that are coming into the short term rental space are being led by young women. She wants women to believe that you can be the CEO of your business and she is using her voice to lift them up.
Feb 20, 202430:44
#152 Hayley Cooper: Best decision I ever made was to build a team

#152 Hayley Cooper: Best decision I ever made was to build a team

On this episode we hear from Haley. Originally from the UK, she went on holiday to South Africa and fell in love and found her way back and has now been there for 15 years. She now lives in Kruger National Park, as part of the management team of a five star luxury lodge and that is only one of her jobs. She is also founder of Wild Dreams which focuses on recruiting and consulting for tourism and hospitality. And she is the COO of Vegan Hospitality. In her 'free' time she is rehabilitating animals, which has been a big part of her journey. Some of her key learnings that she has shared is around knowing your purpose, use hospitality to live the life you want and recognise all the transferable skills you can gain from this industry. She also talks about how a job should make you feel and aligning it with your values.

Feb 13, 202432:14
#151 Anita Mendiratta : I never believed that a successful woman had to be a man in a skirt

#151 Anita Mendiratta : I never believed that a successful woman had to be a man in a skirt

On this episode we hear from Anita. I have admired Anita for many years and so I am honoured to be able to share her story with you all today. Thank you, Debbie, for the introduction. Like me, she was raised in an environment where she viewed the world without boundaries, not just geographically but also socially, culturally, and economically. She started her corporate career within FMCG and then she started her own firm 22 years ago in tourism and development. Throughout our conversation we bonded on our shared experiences as Asian daughters growing up in different countries, that is not our own and learning to be adaptable and respectful. She shares with us her experiences during covid, which then inspired her to write the book 'The Call to Leadership: Unlocking the Leader Within in Times of Crisis' about the leaders that stepped up. She wanted to write this book to recognise and acknowledge those leaders and ensure they do not get forgotten. She shares one of the things she learnt from writing this book is that everyone is human. I am in complete alignment for her vision of gender balance, and she is one of the first persons who understood the double entendre of Inspiring Women.


https://thecalltoleadership.com


https://anitamendiratta.com

Feb 06, 202438:19
#150 Sue Graves: You can have it all, you just cannot have it all at the same time.

#150 Sue Graves: You can have it all, you just cannot have it all at the same time.

On this episode we hear from Sue. With a passion for hospitality, during her career she at one point spent 29 years with Marriott. She then moved over to the convention centre industry where she applied her hospitality experience. And then she went onto start her own business consulting with hospitality professionals to help modernise, streamline, identify more streams of revenue and improve the guest experience. She has an employee first approach, which I can get on board with. Take care of your staff first, and they will deliver a great customer experience. She shares that by stepping up and working at a higher level, allowed her to be viewed as a leader, at a time was a mostly male dominated environment. There were also moments in her career that she did not always grow vertically, she also chose strategic horizontal moves. She has a wealth of knowledge to share from her experience and would love to connect with other female leaders in the industry, please do not hesitate to reach out to her.

Jan 30, 202431:50
#149 Tamina Wuerth: How people can make their lives easier with AI

#149 Tamina Wuerth: How people can make their lives easier with AI

On this episode we hear from Tamina. She came into hospitality because she needed money. She stayed because it also allowed her to travel and have a freelance career on the side. She left university to work on a project that converted old military bases into resorts. She has spent time in Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, and the US, as she says herself, she got around a lot. She spent a lot of time travelling solo, which she loves as she gets to meet great people this way. Throughout her career, she was freelancing as web designer, marketer, and several other skills. She put all of this to use when she decided to start her own business in tech to implement AI in hotels. With her knowledge of the hospitality industry and experience with AI, she built a service that aims to help hoteliers work through problems, like automating mundane tasks for employees.

Jan 23, 202430:17
#148 Caitlin Wischermann Ornitz : Find really smart people that you care about and have similar passions as you do

#148 Caitlin Wischermann Ornitz : Find really smart people that you care about and have similar passions as you do

On this episode we hear from Caitlin. Fourth generation hotelier, which is all we need to know about why she is in hospitality. Her first experience in hotels was the Steigenberger in Dusseldorf followed by an internship with the Starwood North American Operations. She then went to work at Montage a luxury hotel company which she got by calling everyone she knew at the organisation to pitch herself to get a job there. She had a great mentor when she started out there and allowed her to learn and flourish. She then decided in order to advance her career towards development she needed to educate herself on real estate and finance and decided to go to business school. A thread that she identified in her career is around, impact, loyalty passion and good people who are invested in your career. She found this again at McKinsey, the firm she joined after business school and who taught her how to think. She was later approached by Champagne Hospitality in a strategy role, and she found her way back to hotels. She shares with us her views on mentorship, which is a two-way street and great tips on how to maximise the relationship.

Jan 16, 202436:34
#147 Susan Barry: I just wanted to be the boss

#147 Susan Barry: I just wanted to be the boss

On this episode we hear from Susan. She is the founder of b2b marketing consultancy Hive Marketing and fellow podcast host of Top Floor podcast. When she was a kid, she played at being the boss and we will see how this then materialised in her career. During college she had been working part time with a catering company and when she graduated, they offered her a full-time position, which she accepted as she was still not sure about what she wanted to do, and this was meant to be temporary. She then got stuck in hospitality. She spent a lot of her hotels career working in pre-openings. She realised through this experience that she enjoyed the full autonomy she would have at the start of any opening. Which then inspired her to start her entrepreneurial journey in 2009. She shares how she started out, how her business evolved and some of her own hurdles that she had to overcome, like the 'chip on her shoulder' of being the youngest. She overcome this feeling by her strong work ethic and knowing that all her efforts would come back to her.

Jan 09, 202434:35
#146 Melissa Kalan : No entrepreneur's journey is easy, it takes a lot of grit and resilience and unwavering belief

#146 Melissa Kalan : No entrepreneur's journey is easy, it takes a lot of grit and resilience and unwavering belief

On this episode we hear from Melissa. She started in hospitality straight out of school and never left. She loved the buzz, enjoyed the work and the great people. Early on in her career she was encouraged to learn about revenue management, and she fell in love. After several years in hotel revenue management, she applied for a role at Qantas when they were hiring external candidates. When she started having children and there were no flexible work options available such as WFH, she left Qantas and started her own music school. She tapped into one of her resources to give her the flexibility she needed for her family. This business helped her build the capital that she needed to found the Australian Revenue Manager Association.

Jan 04, 202441:40
#145 Kim Lerner: I just love the dance of service

#145 Kim Lerner: I just love the dance of service

On this episode we hear from Kim. Born and raised in New York, with a French parent, which explains her energy and what she brings to the table. She is a leadership coach and teacher, teaching hospitality professionals to create sustainable careers. From a young age she was immersed in hospitality and grew up wanting to have her own restaurant. She studies in the French school system all her life and she shares that she experienced quite the culture shock when she went to university in Boston. Her passion for hospitality comes from loving the dance of service. She started her working career in New York and spent most of her time there, with a brief nine-month stint in Miami. She talks about how running became a big part of her life, both for physical and mental fitness and it eventually became a thread throughout her career. What she realised during her experiences is her ability to create a sense of calm, in a chaotic environment, like opening restaurants. After her last restaurant opening during the pandemic, giving it her all, she was inspired to start her own business to help others with the skill sets she had.

Dec 19, 202333:39
#144 Jennifer Ryan: Perfect on paper: be super honest with yourself with what you want and not apologise for it

#144 Jennifer Ryan: Perfect on paper: be super honest with yourself with what you want and not apologise for it

On this episode we hear from Jennifer. She has what she calls a meandering path to hospitality. First with stops in banking and technology, before opening her own restaurant. And now she has a tech company that connects trusted talent with flexible work opportunities in the hospitality industry. Each role she went into, across the different sectors involved her convincing someone to give her a chance and she tells us how she did that. For her career she had a plan, but as she says herself life kind of laughed at her and she realised she had to let go. One exercise that she has gone back to over the years is 'perfect on paper', which is ask yourself what you want in life, go for it and do not apologise for it. The two businesses that she started was born from something she saw was missing in the space. First was the restaurant serving healthy food. Second was the tech company to provide work to top talent, especially woman who needed flexible hours and providing businesses with staff to help run their businesses.

Dec 14, 202335:17
#143 Meredith Marin : Everyone deserves to have a good experience, everyone deserves a seat at the table

#143 Meredith Marin : Everyone deserves to have a good experience, everyone deserves a seat at the table

On this episode we hear from Meredith. Founder and CEO of Vegan Hospitality that helps hotels, restaurants and food service business caters to vegan guests. Lives on the island of Aruba with her family and is originally from New York. While she did not start in hospitality, after her masters in social work she worked in public health with a focus on food justice. It was when she went vegan herself is when she ran into issues when dining out, especially in Aruba. What started out as conversations with chefs and restaurants owners to try and get a decent meal, then eventually turned into a business where she was consulting with these establishments to cater to wider dietary needs. Which in reality often helped flex the creativity muscles of the chefs. She has continued to grow her business and now she trains other vegans on how to start their own consultancy business to have a global reach and impact. She sees the work that she is doing now as blending her experiences from social work and hospitality into her business.

Dec 12, 202334:25
#142 Isabell Fuss: People associate hotel real estate with emotions, with a story and vision and that is what makes it special

#142 Isabell Fuss: People associate hotel real estate with emotions, with a story and vision and that is what makes it special

On this episode we hear from Isabell. Based in Munich, she is leading Ruby's expansion efforts. As you will hear from her story, she was destined to work in hospitality. She gravitated towards hospitality real estate because she wanted to be part of the space that is creating memories and moments for the guests. Her first role in hospitality after graduating was within development in Accor where she stayed for one and half year. When she started looking for a new role, she connected with the Founder of Ruby, at the start of its journey and believed in its vision to come on board as employee number four. Where she has now been for 10 years, so clearly it was a good match. She shares how it was all new at the beginning to where her role has evolved now to be more strategic, leading the team, being there for the team, troubleshooting and getting involved in the new products lines for the brand and asset management.

Dec 06, 202331:52
#141 Chef Ahu :I think you have to have a little faith in your dream if you like to be successful in life

#141 Chef Ahu :I think you have to have a little faith in your dream if you like to be successful in life

On this episode we hear from Chef Ahu. Originally from Turkey, but now runs a restaurant in Hawaii. She shares with us her journey to becoming a restaurant owner. She first came to the US for her education and unfortunately, she faced several immigration challenges, which led her down a path of depression. It was her mother and her home cooking that revived her, and then inspire her to open a restaurant. I love how she describes food as being the connection to her heritage. I have always believed the best way to know a culture is through the food. After testing the market with at a farmer's market, together with her family and a bank loan, they put all their investments into opening a restaurant. Now when she looks back on her period of suffering, she looks at it with gratitude, as it got her to where she is today. When it comes to confidence and belief in herself, which she believes to be the secret recipe of her success, she says the most valuable ingredient is time.

Dec 05, 202333:42
#140 Federica Bruzzone: Don't let perfectionism get into the way

#140 Federica Bruzzone: Don't let perfectionism get into the way

On this episode we hear from Federica. Her passion for hospitality started quite young being exposed to the various B&B's of her home country of Italy. What she experienced was feeling of home, belonging and warmth and she knew she wanted to re-create this for all her future guests. After graduating from EHL, she started an Airbnb business with her mother in Italy. It was right during the pandemic and not a lot of jobs were going around, however the family identified this opportunity and Federica was able to put her creative interests to work. During her education she was always drawn towards marketing, so upon her return to Switzerland she took on a social media role. She continued to upskill herself in graphic design, brandings etc and now she has set herself up as freelancer running the Creative Identity Studio. We also talked about how the Airbnb business has taken off in Italy. To discussing the importance of branding and how its evolved, from an economy of mass production to mass customisation. She defines her purpose as helping hospitality businesses support them in creating impact.

Nov 30, 202331:39
#139 Mona AlHebsi: Unique challenges being an emirati woman working in hospitality and beating the odds

#139 Mona AlHebsi: Unique challenges being an emirati woman working in hospitality and beating the odds

On this episode we hear from Mona. The first Emirati woman I have interviewed whom, as you will hear through the episode, chose to work in hospitality, which is very rare in the UAE as a woman. One of her first roles was at the Burj Al Arab in training, where she worked with one of my previous podcast hosts, Caroline Stevens. With the desire to help people and make maximum impact, she went onto having a career in HR across various hotels in Dubai. She talks about her ambition and how she wanted to be the best. She took the time to educate herself, work on her self-development and something she invests in always is lifelong learning. One of her professional learnings is, if you want to create real impact, you have to do things out of the normal. She also real about her experiences of speaking up, you may come across people who will not appreciate it. Moments like this, turn to your internal compass and believe in what you did. She shares more of her journey in her book 'Beat the odds'.

Nov 28, 202330:44
#138 Jane Mack: Your career can change, nothing is set in stone and there is no age limit on your career

#138 Jane Mack: Your career can change, nothing is set in stone and there is no age limit on your career

On this episode we hear from Jane Mack. A holiday-let coach and consultant, where she is sharing her knowledge of 10 years of her own experience of running a holiday let business. She always worked in hospitality throughout her school and uni years. She went onto study hospitality management with the vision to run and manager a big five-star hotels, but after her placement year in a boutique hotel she shifted her focus. Then while trying out different experiences and roles, she discovered HR, which is where she went onto develop her career. She was made redundant during her maternity and when an opportunity arose for her and her husband to buy a holiday-let business, they went for it. Being unfamiliar with the holiday let industry, I asked her to share her experiences and what changes she has seen during her time. Another point she raised was a motivation behind running her own business was to be a mother who was present for her kids’ school activities, whilst it was not an easy juggling act, she found a way to make it work.

Nov 23, 202330:40
#137 Megan Grant: You are not failing by trying many things.

#137 Megan Grant: You are not failing by trying many things.

On this episode we hear from Megan. She has a tour company for women with a sustainable and ethical lens on tourism and tells us the story of how she got started. When it comes to hospitality, she feels that this is all she has known, having started working in it from the age of 15. Throughout her hospitality career, she tried lots of different things, moved roles, moved to various parts of the industry, but nothing ever seemed to stick because she felt she was not contributing in a purposeful or impactful way. Having started her business 3 years ago, it is now the longest career that she has had. One of the takeaways she wants women to hear is that you are not failing by trying many things. She started her business around travel as its one of the things that she loves most and supporting women through travels. She also believes that we can all learn about ourselves through women of all ages. One of the skills she learnt from her time in hospitality is saying no in a nice way.

Nov 21, 202329:31
#136 Komal Darira: I don't have any limits, I just need to believe in myself.

#136 Komal Darira: I don't have any limits, I just need to believe in myself.

On this episode we hear from Komal. She first became a tour guide at the age of 19, in India, where it was very uncommon for women to be tour guides. So, in many ways she was a trail blazer in her field. From the beginning of her career, she was determined to have greater diversity in her teams and at one point she had a 60% female team. In 2020, covid was the catalyst to take her drive and purpose to start her own business. She shares with us the challenges she faced in the past ten years, especially when it came to breaking stereotypes and safety. She is happy to see the progress that’s been made in the past years and that is primarily all the work she has done in talking about the industry. And when it comes to hiring, not only do you talk to the candidates you also have the convince the family in India. It’s a family affair. Even when it comes to travelling, women are expected to travel either with their family or their husbands. She shares with us how she came up with the name of her company, sitting on the banks of the Ganges. Women for world, owned by women but open to everyone.

Nov 16, 202329:17
#135 Eliane Yun Wang: We learn every single day

#135 Eliane Yun Wang: We learn every single day

On this episode we hear from Eliane. She has been in the industry for 20 years and loves this industry because of the different people she gets to meet. After education in Switzerland, she started her hospitality career in the US and then love brought her to France. Where in many ways she had to start her career over while she was learning the language. She speaks four languages and shares with us her experiences of learning. Being exposed to so many cultures, she says to be yourself, take the best of each culture, blend them, and create your own culture. And then how we use it to better understand others and their cultures. Communication is key. She shares the mentors who have helped develop her career and gave her the opportunities to grow. When it comes to team development, she believes in surrounding yourself with talented people and giving them the space to learn. Her advice to women to take a chance on yourself, give yourself the opportunity, you will be surprised by your own capacity and have confidence in yourself. Don’t wait to be 100% ready, because that is not possible.

Nov 14, 202326:17
#134 Lisa Dahl: When you cook with love, you feed the soul

#134 Lisa Dahl: When you cook with love, you feed the soul

On this episode we hear from Lisa. Self-taught chef she is now the owner of six restaurants on Sedona and has been in the industry for 27 years. She started in the fashion industry, but after an unexpected tragedy in her life she found herself in hospitality with the opening of her first restaurant. Whilst it was not easy, she took a chance for herself and paved the path to freedom to be tje kind of chef she wanted to be and do it on her own, especially as a woman. In 2010, she wrote her book 'Elixir of Life' which helped her get recognised as a chef in her own right. We both recognise that its still a very male dominated industry and she admires many of the men she has worked with, she tries to get more balance. Today she has one third women working across her restaurant company. She sees herself as a visionary and that is where the growth of her business came from as she wanted to create and design new place, new menus and have a diversity of restaurants. Throughout the conversation she shares with us inspirating taglines/mantras to live by, the spiritual journey both her personal and professional life has taken her on and how philanthropy plays an important role in her life.

Nov 09, 202336:13
#133 Karima Lanfranco: Desire to bridge industry and academia

#133 Karima Lanfranco: Desire to bridge industry and academia

On this episode we hear from Karima. Through her desire to bridge industry and academia she has taken her 15 years of operational experience and taken it back to the classroom and is now a professor. My favourite part of this episode is that it was actually her husband who reached out and asked to have Karima on the show, so this is a shout out to all the 'hospitality husbands' out there advocating for the women in their lives. One of the things she loved about working at front desk during her time was being able to tie the circle with the guest from their arrival to departure. And it was actually her mom who predicted that she was going to be in hospitality. We both agreed that the management trainee programmes that the industry offers are a great way to get started and try out so many different departments and be exposed to so many different career options. When it comes to mentors, she shares that it takes a village to inspire us all. In addition to being a professor now she has her own consulting and training company to develop employees in the industry. Focus less on the guest and focus more on our people. Something that I can get on board with.

Nov 07, 202335:08
#132 Alison Hargreaves: Loyalty goes both ways

#132 Alison Hargreaves: Loyalty goes both ways

On this episode we hear from Alison. She got sucked in both into hospitality and London. She went to Cornell to study hotel management, came to London after graduating and basically never left. She was fascinated by the multi-cultural people that are drawn into this industry. She started with IHG, few years with consulting before joining ownership group Archer Hotel Capital, where she has been 16 years now. And this might have come to pass had her boss at the time not shown her some flexibility when she felt she needed to take a step back after having children. This is the positive kind of examples I hope to see more of across our industry. Throughout the rest of her career, she adjusted her role not only based on her personal circumstances but also with the cycles of the industry. We both agreed that a lot of our learnings come from time and experience, and we just must go through them.

Nov 02, 202334:33
#131 Kerry Healy: You create that destiny for yourself by believing in yourself

#131 Kerry Healy: You create that destiny for yourself by believing in yourself

Coming....On this episode we hear from Kerry. Growing up her family moved and travel around a lot, which exposed her to various cultures and taught her to adapt and learn what makes people tick. After working a couple of years in operations, she moved into sales at property level before moving onto above-property positions, which then eventually led her to her commercial role that she oversees today. When it comes to growing your career Kerry says that you must show willingness and also be vocal about what it is that you want. She also talks about building relationship with people within your organisation and identify those supporters who will speak up for you, even when you are not in the room. She also shares her thoughts with how she notices that women often tend to start with 'I am sorry' and sadly it’s an overused word by women in the business. She also shares with us her journey and the mindset she had to position herself for the chief commercial role. And she says it best - ultimately it’s a fun business to be in.

Oct 31, 202331:16
#130 Emma Fraser:I got into hospitality to be able to shape the future of travel for guests

#130 Emma Fraser:I got into hospitality to be able to shape the future of travel for guests

On this episode we hear from Emma. She says hospitality was in her DNA, having travelled and moved around a lot growing up, she knew this was going to be a part of her life. She made a career for herself in marketing and PR working for various brands in different parts of the world, like IHG, Starwood, Raffles, TFE and more, before she decided to start her own business. For her business she has focused on brand strategy, and we have an interesting conversation around branding, what it means and for someone who is looking into a career in branding what they should be looking into. Her one piece of advice is when it comes to marketing, dream big. She shares a fun story of a PR stunt she did on the helipad of the Burj al Arab in Dubai. The key learning that she has taken away from her career is to be present and show up.

Oct 26, 202332:15
#129 Monika Krauthahn: I follow my gut and that has led me almost around the world.

#129 Monika Krauthahn: I follow my gut and that has led me almost around the world.

On this episode we hear from Monika. She came into hospitality because of the people and wanting to know what makes them tick. The focus of her career has been to fee and anticipate her client needs and help them find a solution for them. When it comes to her journey, she has always followed her gut, without realising it was her strategy she chose and now she allows herself the luxury to follow her happiness. When she started her own business, she looks at what she could contribute with all that she had in her rucksack. It was and is a bumpy ride, but she was always listening to her soul compass. Her latest focus is on sustainability and how to incorporate it into everything that we do.

Oct 24, 202327:47
#128 Lucia Grambalova: Working in a monopoly game of buying and selling hotels

#128 Lucia Grambalova: Working in a monopoly game of buying and selling hotels

On this episode we hear from Lucia. She started working in hotels while studying at university and when she graduated, she had the choice to stay in hotels or go down a corporate career. She chose hotels and the plan was to stay one year, 9 years later she was still there. She enjoyed the variety, new challenges, and the people she was working with. After her first GM role she realised that operations was not meant for her future and after a conversation with the asset manager, she found an opportunity in investment. She didn’t know if she was going to sink or swim, but after three months she realised she was swimming and has continued to do so for 13 years. Her operational plus investment experience allows to speak both languages and communicate each perspective clearly to bring about collaboration. She and I both agree, to advance in your career you have to express your ambitions and do the work.

Oct 19, 202331:60
#127 Gunjan Kahlon: We all need a framework of where we want to be.

#127 Gunjan Kahlon: We all need a framework of where we want to be.

On this episode we hear from Gunjan. Inspired by the history and culture of Rajasthan, she came into hospitality and tourism. She focused her career in sales and worked at several of the resort hotels in Jaipur, before moving to New Delhi. First time she was away from home, but she was in for a bigger shock a few years later when she not only moved countries but continents. She initially struggled when she arrived in Canada to find a job. What she missed the most was her financial independence. While she had to take a step back to restart her career, she realised it was the best thing that happened. But Gunjan, as you will hear in this episode was determined and ambition and she shares how she grew in her career to now a VP position within Wyndham. She also loves the coffee culture downtown Toronto lifestyle and grateful to be an immigrant success story.

Oct 12, 202338:04
#126 Naina Madan: I have learnt that at the end we are all the same

#126 Naina Madan: I have learnt that at the end we are all the same

On this episode we hear from Naina. She is born and raised in Holland to Indian immigrant parents, who taught her and her three sisters to integrate. She went to the UK to study, but it wasn’t until she moved to New York that she found her vibe. She started her career in fashion, because she didn’t know what she wanted to do and just followed her father into the business. We both agreed that when we are young how are we supposed to know what we are supposed to do and we need the time to explore and figure things out. As she was discovering things she went into real estate and then also a jewellery business with her sister. Seven years ago, inspired by her mother, who had a tea for every occasion she started her own business in the tea industry and now sells them online. She believes that everyone is interesting, we all have a story to share and that we are all individuals.


Website: https://www.madn77.com/

Oct 10, 202328:39
#125 Marion Carpentier: Courage to speak up takes maturity

#125 Marion Carpentier: Courage to speak up takes maturity

On this episode we hear from Marion. She was born into hospitality, quite literally. Her earliest memories are from the restaurant her family ran and they used to live above. She went onto have an extensive career in hospitality at many of the brands that I have grown to love and admire - Relais Chateaux, Laduree, Ping Pong, Harvey Nichols, citizenM and more. Each time she took on a new role, the business scaled with her. International expansions allowed her to experience new cultures and understand how business models needed to be adapted according to your location. She talks about how being a woman in business we need to speak up more, which takes courage and comes with maturity. Taking care of yourself and making yourself a priority, while its hard sometimes makes a big difference in her mental wellbeing. Have the courage to say no and ask yourself what do you want?

Oct 05, 202332:43
#124 Carmen Tomasic: How do I get the life I want was the theme of my career.

#124 Carmen Tomasic: How do I get the life I want was the theme of my career.

On this episode we hear from Carmen. She fell into hospitality accidentally, because one day she heard how much tips her friend was making working at the bar. She has worked in Australia, Croatia and now in Singapore. She always wanted to travel and knew that hospitality would be the avenue to this. She has had various roles and in different companies, but the one theme she has had throughout her career is knowing herself and what makes her happy and making the career fit around her lifestyle. Very early on in her career she had a mentor who recognised the potential in her, even when she had a long list of everything she did not know. Having someone believe in her was pivotal to her career development. When it comes to being a woman working in hospitality, her view is to embrace your authentic self and be yourself.



Oct 03, 202327:53
#123 Bettina Buelte: Balancing being an achiever with an empathetic view on myself

#123 Bettina Buelte: Balancing being an achiever with an empathetic view on myself

On this episode we hear from Bettina. She just knew that she was meant to be in hospitality, no question about it. She was also very single minded about going to hotel school in Lausanne. She shares her career journey that started in operations, some time in London before moving into consulting in the search of more "normal" working hours. Then returning home to Switzerland she joined PWC for 8 years. After which she took a sabbatical, spent some time with Migros before starting her own consultancy with her business partner. Some of the learnings she has shared were about learning to trust the process, not put too much pressure on herself and have a better balance between achieving and kindness to herself.


Sep 28, 202340:11
#122 Zoë Binning : Finding the gap in weddings and doing something about it, with an eco-friendly lens.

#122 Zoë Binning : Finding the gap in weddings and doing something about it, with an eco-friendly lens.

On this episode we hear from Zoe. I do not know even where to begin, but probably the best place is enthusiasm, finding the gap in the market and doing something about it. She went into retail initially, but after attending 13 weddings in one year and many more after, including her own, she realised there was a gap in the market for good wedding planners in Wales offering a well-rounded service. She did that for 10 years, before moving onto consulting and training, venues, coordinators, and other wedding planners. She started her own wedding catering business because she wanted to offer good quality, eco-friendly and dietary suitable options for the guests. She pivoted this business to focus on corporates during the pandemic and did not go back. She has also launched a plastic free. sustainable wedding favours and gifts online shop because she wants to do her part to reduce waste at weddings. You can still have a beautiful instagrammable wedding and be sustainable. She is a force to be reckoned with.

Sep 26, 202332:56
#121 Heather Byron: I am here to help the hospitality industry accelerate change.

#121 Heather Byron: I am here to help the hospitality industry accelerate change.

On this episode we hear from Heather. Passion for technology and diversity are the two themes that came out for me during this conversation. She has a background in management consulting in various other industries, first working for other firms and then starting her own consultancy. She is now in hospitality technology through an opportunity where the stars aligned. She sees technology as a way of adding onto the customer and employee experience for hospitality businesses. When it comes to diversity, a real advocate for hearing different voices and believes that those businesses that can harness this will benefit the most. With her passion she is here to accelerate change in the industry.

Sep 21, 202335:22
#120 Vivien Ivanyi: Networking for me is creating and weaving groups of people I can call on for different perspectives.

#120 Vivien Ivanyi: Networking for me is creating and weaving groups of people I can call on for different perspectives.

On this episode we hear from Vivien. She decided to follow her father into hospitality, making her a third generation hotelier in her family. She went in and out of hospitality and dipped her toe into other industries, but they are all opportunities for learning and growth. She is curious by nature and education has always been a big part of her life, an area she also felt it important to learn from other industries. Her career journey has taken her around the globe and each move was when an opportunity presented itself, at the right time for her professionally and personally. While she has been moving around, it always brought her back to Paris, which has been her home, on and off for the past 20 years. She has weaved a network of women and male peers to stay connected with, learn from and they are the people who have supported her career journey thus far.



Sep 19, 202331:55
#119 Claire Boscq: Lead with the yang, manage with the ying.

#119 Claire Boscq: Lead with the yang, manage with the ying.

On this episode we hear from Claire. Her Dad opened and ran a restaurant in the south of France, which meant she was going to either love or hate hospitality. Fortunately, it was love. She started her career in hospitality working the seasons across Europe and then ended up as a GM in a hotel in Jersey. When she became a single mother, she could not keep up with the hotel working hours anymore and decided to open her own mystery shopping business, after identifying a gap in the market. Post pandemic, she has reinvented herself and is now a speaker and champion for customer experience. She talks about perseverance, not giving up, not to lose faith in yourself and bring the positive energy.


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claireboscq/


Sep 14, 202328:28
#118 Khun Lak: I live a blended life - western efficiency with Thai smile and warmth

#118 Khun Lak: I live a blended life - western efficiency with Thai smile and warmth

On this episode we hear from Khun Lak. Being a diplomat's daughter meant that the first 25 years of her life she was constantly moving around the world but coming back to Thailand in between. She has lived what she calls a blended life- western efficiency with Thai smile and warmth. When she became a single mother, she returned to Thailand and made a commitment to her family for a good life. So, she decided to start her own business in manufacturing crystals. Then she went into education and opened an international pre-school. She was not done yet; on property she inherited in Hua Hin she opened a boutique hotel. She did not have any experience in any of these industries, but it did not deter her. She researched, learnt, asked questions, networked and most importantly she had belief in herself that she could do it.

Sep 12, 202326:06
#117 Fiona (Bührer) von Waldenfels: No better education than culture and travelling around the world

#117 Fiona (Bührer) von Waldenfels: No better education than culture and travelling around the world

On this episode we hear from Fiona. We both agreed that the travelling we did in our early years helped us to be adaptable and she is now doing the same with her children. They live between Berlin, South Africa, and Italy. She has had a varied career journey across various industries and countries, but she always came back to wine. Wine being in her family for three generations and now she is running the Saxenburg Wine Estate. We talked about what is like to be a woman in wine and how its slowly starting to change. She also shared while her branding and messaging stays on point, her packaging will change in different parts of the world. Which is also something she learnt from her previous career experiences. No matter what we do in life, we are learning, and we take that with us forward.


https://saxenburg.co.za/



Sep 07, 202327:17
#116 Emma Pike: I was destined to do something different with my life.

#116 Emma Pike: I was destined to do something different with my life.

On this episode we hear from Emma. She always knew from a young age that she was destined for something different. Never enjoyed school that much, and surrounded by a big entrepreneurial family she started her first business at 16. It was thanks to the help of a mentor, who spotted her early in her career, that she was able to build up her first company to sell by the age of 18. Originally from Australia she moved in Hong Kong and here she set up two business, one in website design and the other as an online butcher. She is now based in Singapore where she has now started an alcohol-free beverage supplier in Asia. She identifies gaps in the market and goes for it. She sees the potential, networks, asks for help, collaborates, identify the end game, and finds a way. Inspirational conversation for any aspiring entrepreneur.


https://www.freespirit.com.sg/

Sep 05, 202336:02
#115 Ling Wei Tan: Do not hold back from voicing your concerns

#115 Ling Wei Tan: Do not hold back from voicing your concerns

On this episode we hear from Ling. One of her key learnings was to be able to voice out your concerns, do not hold that negative energy and be vocal of your needs to your organisation. A lesson all women, including myself can learn from. During her time at JLL she had the opportunity to move to Shanghai to set up their hotel brokerage team, which was her time to shine, come out of her shell and she was inspired by the strong female role models she came across in Shanghai. One she feels is different upon her return to Singapore and she is now actively getting involved in various initiatives to support women empowerment. We also talked about networking, which is important for our careers but how the networking culture is. Often in the evening, with drinks and not every woman or man wants to drink. To making that ok that we do not have to drink to enjoy ourselves or build our careers.

Aug 31, 202337:44
#114 Amanda Thomson: Rip up the rule book and start again

#114 Amanda Thomson: Rip up the rule book and start again

On this episode we hear from Amanda. She was always curious by nature and would ask loads of questions as a child growing up, which got her into media as a BBC broadcaster in the arts space. With the advent of social media, NDAs, publicists she started seeing a shift and decided it was time for a change. She knew that with whatever she did in life, she wanted to make a difference and rip up the rule book in that space. One of her obsessions was fine wine and champagne and so her first career change was to train in making champagne and she moved with her family to Paris to do exactly that. While she was successful with her own champagne and prosecco business, she recognised that there was not going to be much commercial success for her. Being the journalist she inherently was, she picked up on a trend of healthy drinking within leader, industry and legislation. With the same obsession for fine, she put that towards producing non-alcoholic sparkling wine that was not filled with sugar and chemicals and make a real premium alternative for those who did not want to drink. She has same great insights of what we can do to bring more women into this space, such as amplifying the female voice, visibility, speaking up, male allies, hiring women where possible, outreach programmes and much more. She is a true inspiration and was quite moved when she shared her inspiration.


https://noughtyaf.com/

Aug 29, 202330:14
#113 Tatiana Veller: Reinvent yourself every 3 to 7 years.

#113 Tatiana Veller: Reinvent yourself every 3 to 7 years.

On this episode we hear from Tatiana. She chose hospitality because she wanted to have an international career and she sure did. She has worked at hotel brands, bagel shops, airline catering, executive search, investment consulting, asset management, ownership groups and she is still reinventing herself. She talks about how every 3 to 7 years we need redefine what our goals are and work towards it. When it comes to career change think from the positive motivation and what are we going to learn from the next experience and where the opportunities lie. She shares with us her experience when she called up Steve Rushmore to pitch to him to open an executive search business in Moscow, where she knew no one else was doing it and could make a great impact. Those of us working in hospitality know what it takes to be constantly switch on, be an extrovert and for Tatiana, she is all these things, but a liberating discovery for her in her 40s was that big conferences are exhausting for her and now she does not hesitate to leave at 6pm to recuperate her energy. We are constantly learning about ourselves, and we should never stop to take inventory regularly.

Aug 24, 202336:37
#112 Viona Zhang: I was the decision maker for my life from 9 years old.

#112 Viona Zhang: I was the decision maker for my life from 9 years old.

On this episode we hear from Viona. She has been an independent thinker and making decisions for her life since the age of 9, when her parents sent her to boarding school. Her Dad would give her a budget for clothes, and she would shop for herself. At the age of 17 she was already asking herself why she was on this earth, but it’s this thinking that made her realise that she wanted to explore the world and brought her to hospitality. Her first internship was at Disneyland Paris and six internships later she knew she wanted to go into consulting. Which she did for five years in hospitality real estate. She is now the co-founder of Saijai based out of Bangkok bringing work to the informal workers who are not protected by social benefits, as is very common in Asia. She is driven by purpose and impact, and not just money and climbing the corporate ladder. Throughout the conversation she shares some great insights from her life experiences e.g. self-love comes constant reflection, we have our greatest learnings from failure, questioning whether we are doing things we want to or just because society says and so much more. I think we could have carried on for a long time. One final thought from Viona I will share is to view life like a river.


https://saijai.io/en



Aug 22, 202331:45
#111 Gonzalez sisters: Lee and Lauren building high end hostels

#111 Gonzalez sisters: Lee and Lauren building high end hostels

On this episode we hear from Lee and Lauren, sisters, running high end hostels. A special episode where we hear about their journey of being entrepreneurs. Travel played an important part in their lives and then eventually for this business. After careers in finance, they decided they wanted something else. Whilst travelling in Barcelona they bought their first hostel and their thoughts were now is the time to do it when they have less risk and responsibilities and great learning platform. Having stayed in several hostels whilst travelling, they knew they could do it better and they did. They opened two in fact before returning to the US, after completing their respective MBAs. Back in the US, they opened their first hostel in New York and second now in Portland. When it comes to their business, they do everything together, the sister duo, from planning, development, designing, finances etc. As they have grown, they have teams in place to run the operations, but it’s still just the two of them owning and running their business. We go into some interesting details about being a women in real estate and how learning finance speak was harder than learning Catalan. Learning the nuances that come along with it and the gender biases that come along with it. One thing they both shared whether it was dealing with investors or guests is to be honest in your communication.

Aug 17, 202343:39
#110 Felicity Black-Roberts: A person is more powerful when they have the ability to look back and reflect. Give yourself feedback.

#110 Felicity Black-Roberts: A person is more powerful when they have the ability to look back and reflect. Give yourself feedback.

On this episode we hear from Felicity. Her mother wanted her to be a schoolteacher, but she knew that she did not want a role that her stuck behind a desk all day. So, she trained to be a chartered surveyor. But coming into the workforce in the 90s during a recession meant a property role was hard to come by and she found herself in a company that focused on hospitality real estate. Then she spent a few years with Forte Hotels before making an odd move to charity. Maybe odd on paper, but Felicity had a specific objective in mind, to get experience of managing a team and this is how she got it. She came back into hospitality real estate representing PE owners, before switching back to brands. This experience allowed her to see things from both sides and come up with a solution when negotiating a deal. We talked about how feedback is important and how it’s played a role in her own development. Being a good manager means spending time with your team. Working in a multi-generational workplace means we learn from one another and be ready to embrace change. It took her a while to get comfortable in her own skin and she has learnt that it’s better to listen, assess the room, gather intelligence and then speak with meaningful contributions.

Aug 15, 202337:53
#109 Isabel Wong: Hotel asset class is sexy

#109 Isabel Wong: Hotel asset class is sexy

On this episode we hear from Isabel. She was inspired be her Dad to come into real estate. It was through her rotational programme at JLL where the focus was more on investment side of real estate that she found her opportunity in hospitality and then decided to stay in it. To her hospitality is a 'sexy' asset class, more interesting than the others and she likes the social aspect of hospitality. Upon reflection on her journey thus far, she wishes she had asked more questions when she stated out as analyst. Over the years, with the support of her team and mentors, she has grown not only in her technical skills but her confidence too. As you progress in your career the focus is more on client relationship and negotiation, whilst she is still learning she feels that is in a good environment to grow her career. She has also seen the change in the sector with more gender balance and inclusion for women.

Aug 10, 202330:41