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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/

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?