Revealed: Inspiring Women to Watch & Role Models for Inclusion in Hospitality, Travel & Leisure

WiHTL, in partnership with The MBS Group, has announced the fourth edition of ‘Women to Watch and Role Models for Inclusion in the Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (HTL) Index 2022’.

The index, designed to inspire other women to join and progress within the HTL industry, highlights talented women in the industry and profiles of dozens of senior women distinguished for their commercial and operational excellence, industry and social impact, achievements, resilience and commitment to the industry.

For the second year running the Index also includes a section for ‘Role Models for Inclusion’, celebrating people from any gender and background who champion inclusion and diversity within their organisations and communities in order to drive meaningful change.

“The key theme in this year’s index is inspiration,” shared Tea Colaianni, Founder and Chair of WiHTL. “I have no doubt that the professional and personal stories we have highlighted will inspire the next generation of talent to enter and progress within our exciting and inclusive sector. They will also inspire all leaders to be advocates and allies working together to create inclusive environments for everybody. Congratulations to all the Women to Watch and the Role Models for Inclusion on their fantastic achievements.”

TALENTED WOMEN OF WORTH

Paul Pomroy, Corporate Senior Vice President of International Operated Markets at McDonald’s believes that the people who’ve been included in this group “will go on to do great things in this industry”. “It’s so important to make sure that the outstanding women on the list get the opportunities they deserve in their future careers. It also makes amazing business sense to have a diverse workforce that represents your community, your customers, it makes your decisions stronger and helps you adapt better,” added Pomroy.

“Once a year in the community, we recognise all those women who have gone above and beyond and really shown their talents in all different ways,” said Paul Flaum, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bourne Leisure. His message to the nominees was: “You are incredible women of worth. You’ve got incredible talent. Please make sure that you use your uniqueness and do everything you can to make sure that your potential is realised.”

Adding to his comments, Thirza Danielson, Director at the MBS Group said: “For over 30 years, the MBS group has been seeking to move the dial on diversity within the sectors we serve. And it is a real honour to be celebrating the launch of the fourth annual addition of Women to Watch and Role Models for Inclusion. Back when we published the first edition of this index in 2019 in partnership with WiHTL, there was a perception that a barrier to progression of the DE&I agenda was a lack of women leaders in the Hospitality, Travel and Leisure industry. Fast forwarding to today and after publishing four indexes and featuring hundreds of female leaders, I’m confident that we’ve dispelled that myth”.

INSPIRING & OUTSTANDING LEADERS

 “In my day job in executive search, I hear time and time again, that when it comes to a shortlist, there just aren’t enough women to get to a balanced shortlist,” noted  Elliot Goldstein, Managing Partner at the MBS Group. “The last four Indexes we have published in partnership with WiHTL show categorically that there are a huge number of incredibly talented female leaders across the entire hospitality, travel and leisure sector and there are no excuses anymore not to have balanced shortlists.”

To be included in this year’s Women to Watch in HTL Index 2022, the judges were looking women who stand out from their peer groups and excelling in the following areas:

• Leadership
• Commercial impact
• Entrepreneurialism and innovation
• Wider contribution to society

WOMEN TO WATCH

Here are 2022’s Women to Watch in HTL:

• Denise Allen, Director of People, Westbury Street Holdings
• Maria Azcue, Head of Transformation Maintenance and Engineering, Aer Lingus
• Sarah Barron, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino’s
• Kay Bartlett, Customer Director, wagamama
• Luz Batista, Director of Accounting, PTP North America Business Process Owner, Avis Budget Group
• Karin Bissmarck, Operation and Change Manager (IT), ODEON Cinemas Group
• Hazel Boyle, Chief People Officer, The Rank Group Plc
• Lucy Branch, Director Brand Culture & Service, IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Rosie-Ellis Brothwood, General Manager, Away Resorts Ltd
• Nicola Burke, Director of Sales Enablement and Meetings Simplified, EMEA, Hilton
• Claire Carbone, Estates Director, PizzaExpress
• Katie Carter, Head of Retail and Channel Effectiveness, Virgin Atlantic
• Eva Chan, Head of Strategy and Feasibility EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
• Lezli Dickson, Head of Employee Relations and Organisational Design, PizzaExpress
• Vicky Douglas, Head of Guest Loyalty, Sales Management and Operations, Scott Dunn
• Janice Duncan, Chief Financial Officer, Rank Interactive
• Laura Edwards, Delivery & Change Director, easyJet
• Gemma Evans-Hurley, Culinary Lead Projects, Compass Group UK&I
• Nuala Gallagher, Brand Director, Greene King
• Sarah Grime, Head of Format, The Gym Group
• Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability, British Airways
• Joanne Hind, Operations Manager, Greene King
• Sara Holt, UK & Ireland Sales and Marketing Director, Midway UK, Merlin Entertainments
• Niki Hutchinson, Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, Welcome Break
• Angela Jobson, Global Brand Director – Madame Tussauds & Legoland Discovery Centre, Merlin Entertainments
• Sarah John, Director of Corporate Affairs, SSP Group Plc
• Raj Jones, Head of DE&I (UK&I), Sodexo
• Arash Kang, Commercial Counsel, Whitbread Plc
• Emma Knight, Group Head of Media & Public Affairs, Stagecoach
• Anna Knowles, Director of PR and Corporate Affairs, easyJet
• Emma Leahy, Senior Director Strategic Operations & Administration Asia, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific
• Fabienne Lecuyer, Chief Procurement Officer, Elior France
• Rie Lorentzen, UK Head of Food, Ole & Steen
• Jessica Markowski, Director, QSR and Global Restaurant Brands, Deliveroo
• Helen Milligan-Smith, UK Managing Director, Aramark
• Erika Mixon, Vice President of Marketing, Pacific ONE SoCal, Wyndham
• Destinations at Travel + Leisure Co.
• Angela Moores, Chief Customer Officer, SSP Group Plc
• Bobbie Moreton, General Manager, Gaucho, Rare Restaurants
• Naj O’Dell, Divisional Director, PureGym
• Karen O’Rourke, Chief of Staff, Flutter Entertainment Plc
• Maddalena Padrin, General Counsel, edyn
• Alyson Parkes, Impact Manager, Rare Restaurants
• Kirsty Pitcher, People Director, Domino’s
• Briony Raven, Global Transformation Director, Pret A Manger
• Kate Ross, Operations Manager, Fuller, Smith & Turner Plc
• Miriam Roughsedge, Head of Food and Beverage, UK and Ireland, ODEON Cinemas Group
• Stacey Rush, Director of Design, Construction and Integration, SSP America
• Monique Samra, People Experience Manager, Fuller, Smith & Turner
• Hannah Schnadt, Head of Financial Control – UK & Germany, Whitbread Plc
• Clara Shand, GB Commercial Director, C&C Group
• Emma Sidlow, Head of Finance Business Partnering, Stagecoach
• Emma Simmonds, VP, Consumer & Pricing, Deliveroo
• Helen Smith, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Dorchester Collection
• Paula Stevenson, Managing Director – Corporate Services UK&I, Sodexo
• Lou Thomas, People Director, Haven
• Donna Vass, HR Director Global Offshore, Aramark
• Georgina Warren, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director, IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Hannah Wells, Head of Commercial Partnerships, PureGym
• Katherine White, Director of People, Wyboston Lakes
• Debbie Whittingham, Regional Manager and Employee Director, J D Wetherspoon Plc
• Katherine Wilkinson, Head of Talent, Welcome Break
• Charlotte Wright, Director of CSR & Wellness, Elior UK

Commenting on being included as one of the Women to Watch this year in HTL, Janice Duncan, CFO at Rank Interactive said: “I’m grateful to be included in this year’s index. I want to continue showcasing our achievements and demonstrate what’s possible in other women’s careers. Believe in yourself. You’re braver than you think; you’re more talented than you think you know; you’re capable of more than you think.”

ROLE MODELS FOR INCLUSION

To be recognised as a Role Model for Inclusion in the HTL Index 2022, nominees had to fulfil the following critera:

• Be a role model for any aspect of inclusion for the organisation or community.
• Be an active promoter and supporter of Inclusion initiatives in their organisation e.g. chairs or is an active member of an employee resource network group (ERG) or is a particularly proactive executive sponsor.
• Supports external initiatives and campaigns that promote diversity and inclusion beyond their own organisation.
• Takes an active role at company events on the importance and value of having a diverse and inclusive culture.

This year’s 20 Role Models for Inclusion, moving the dial on diversity and inclusion, include:

• Katie Birchall, Human Resources Business Partner, Whitbread
• Donna Borthwick, Vice President Legal and Compliance Asia Pacific, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific
• Karen Bosher, Managing Director – Premium, Urban Pubs and Venture Brands, Greene King
• Louise Broome, Senior Manager – DE&I/Wellbeing and Group People Partner, ODEON Cinemas Group,
• Alice Christierson, Senior Corporate Counsel, Deliveroo
• Beth Clarke, Head of People Development, wagamama
• Francesca Coupe, Director of HR, British Airways
• Anne Dewison, L&D Director, Aramark
• Stephanie Gayet, Head of Franchising, McDonald’s
• Mark Gregory-White, General Manager, Millennium & Copthorne at Chelsea FC
• Karl Howard-Norris, Head of Aircraft Maintenance, Virgin Atlantic
• Marina Kawarazaki, Talent Attraction Specialist, Dorchester Collection
• Sophie Lawler, CEO, Total Fitness
• Kat Parsons, UK Head of D&I, ISS
• Neil Poulter, General Manager Thorpe Park Resort, Merlin Entertainments
• Laura Purdey, HR Director – Schools & Universities, Sodexo
• Jenny Redmond, Talent and Inclusion Partner, PizzaExpress
• Shanika Trotman, Partnerships Manager, easyJet
• Andrea Wareham, Chief People Officer, Pret A Manger
• Julie Wilby, Head of People, Rare Restaurants

Commenting on being included in this year’s Role Model for Inclusion Index, Shanika Trotman, Partnerships Manager at easyJet said: “I’ve only joined the travel industry in the last three years and have never felt so seen and so heard in the drive for inclusion in the workplace. Being a Role Model for Inclusion means that people around me feel like they can be their full authentic selves. And I think that’s so crucial for everyone’s life.”

The full version of the Women to Watch & Role Models for Inclusion in Hospitality, Travel & Leisure Index 2022 can be downloaded here.

RELATED ARTICLES

You can check out last year’s Women to Watch and Role Models For Inclusion in the hospitality, travel and leisure sector here.

Check out the Role Models for Inclusion in Retail Index 2022, highlighting inspirational diversity and inclusion champions working hard to create more inclusive workplaces within retail here.

A new global survey has revealed that travellers want the travel industry to be more inclusive, and authentically reflect all types of individuals.