How did you get started in hospitality?
I started my career in Australia in 1988. I fell in love with fulfilling people’s dreams and joined the front office team, never thinking that I would still be in the hotel business more than 25 years later. I thought that I would return to university to complete a law degree after my initial study in politics. But the pull of hospitality was too strong.
What do you love most about travelling?
I never tire of travelling, and I’m constantly considering the next interesting destination to explore. I was especially taken with Iceland, where my husband and I took a week long trip, driving through mountains and blizzards, so far from the daily routine that it was sublime. And the Chilean Fjords promises the most breath taking scenery in the world. Travel has been in my blood since childhood. I have lived and worked in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Belgium, and now Switzerland.
What inspires your work with Kempinski?
We are a people business and only by staying as close as possible to the field and the people who are delivering for our guests will we be truly successful. I fight to deliver on commitments made, to be transparent when we are unable to make it, to listen carefully to the concerns of our stakeholders, and work hard, in collaboration with the hotel teams, to drive beautiful performance.