AS A boy, I was lucky enough to stay in many different hotels with my family. I watched many general managers ‘mine host’ and quickly came to the decision – that’s for me.
Thinking too that it looked like a pretty easy business was my first big error of judgement.
Being the youngest child by a few years with two older sisters and the only boy, I was encouraged to be myself and that belief from the family gave me the self-confidence that you need in a people business.
My mother was a cook and I still believe she could have made more money than any in my family if she had started her own bakery business. I guess you put all this together and you have a natural entry in the hotel business.
After college, I started my career as a management trainee with TrustHouse Forte with a single goal in mind, to be that general manager. I was able as part of the training scheme to work in different departments in various hotels, learning from the ground floor, which I think is the best way to really understand this business.
I then progressed in all sorts of assistant manager roles and managed to get exposure to all the key disciplines of the business from food and beverage, rooms, human resources, sales and marketing and finance.
This led to my first job as general manager which I shall never forget, but not for the more obvious reasons. I found myself needing to recruit for a personnel and training manager and interviewed a number of candidates, finally choosing the one I felt was outstanding. This candidate later became my wife – I sometimes wonder who was interviewing whom for what!
As my career has progressed I have been fortunate to be given the opportunities to use my skills in other areas not directly related to the operational aspects of our business.
In these leaps you have to be brave and believe in your management skills whatever the challenge. I also had the excellent opportunity to attend Stanford University in California for three months in the summer of 1994.
Perhaps a sad reflection however was that I was the only individual on the programme from the hospitality business out of 150. These style of programmes allow you to gain not only from the learning but also from a unique situation to network with managers from many different cultures and businesses, public and private.
These are contacts who remain with you for years after. The key thing about this business is that it is never the same from day to day, not least because of the changing expectations of our customers. You also never stop learning, about the power of brands, global consolidation, electronic distribution and yourself.
My most recent role, based in Dubai, was a memorable experience and a wonderful learning curve both personally and professionally.
The exposure to the management contract business in the cultural settings of the Middle East and India brings new challenges. An even greater reliance on those people skills was needed.
In all these roles I have adopted a similar management style – being straightforward, working hard at getting people on my side and remembering to laugh and have some fun along the way.
I am an enthusiast and tend not to do things by half. I like being active and through the years have developed a passion for golf. I play when I can and have enjoyed many of the world’s great golf courses.
My other passion is sailing and I have travelled from the UK to France, Belgium, Holland and the Channel Islands many times, very often losing sight of the shore and discovering new bays and harbours which is a very special and satisfying experience.
I have also learned an enormous respect for the sea. For just like in business, if you fail to plan and set off without taking account of prevailing circumstances, you may never arrive.
The difference is, out there it really can be life or death, while business only purports to be!
I really am a firm believer that absorbing leisure activities can provide a crucial balance to an often-frantic work schedule.
1973:joined Trusthouse Forte as a management trainee.
1982:became general manager.
1985: became personal assistant to Dennis Hearn, deputy chief executive of Trusthouse Forte.
1987: took on first role of area director for Forte UK Hotels, north of England.
1990: promoted to director of worldwide reservations and yield.
1991: returned to operational management as managing director of Forte Heritage Hotels.
1994: attended Stanford University California for summer executive programme. Returned as MD, Londond held role during Granada take over.
1996: moved to Dubai as MD Forte and Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts Middle East and West Asia.
1999: returned to UK as worldwide MD sales and marketing.
l Place the customer at the heart of everything you do.
l Respect and value your customers, colleagues and your community – treat them all with care as they are all fragile, easily damaged and often difficult to repair.
l Really listen to people – when you do you will be surprised at what you find out about them and you
l You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
l Work as hard at making your personal life a success as you do your business life and keep them in balance.