Ana M. BrantAna Brant has been promoted to director for global guest experience at Dorchester Collection, having worked at the company since June 2010. Her main responsibility is to ensure that the guest and employee experience is aligned with Dorchester Collection’s brand promise ‘Iconic Hotels in Iconic Places’, through the science of service and innovation. Ana first worked as quality and productivity manager for The New York Palace to then become area director of quality and productivity for The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air; playing a key role during the reopening of Hotel Bel-Air. For the last couple of years, Ana has held the role of director of organisational performance, working alongside each property to ensure operational implementation of all targeted goals. Reporting to Eugenio Pirri, vice president of people and organisational development, she has helped deploy objectives such as measuring, understanding and evaluating luxury service standards, guaranteeing employee and guest engagement, and overseeing the company’s innovation committee. Originally from Croatia, Ana earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Resort Management, and a Master in Service Leadership and Innovation from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. She also pursued a course in Strategic Leadership certification at Cornell University. Ana began her career in Boston with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company as market research analyst as well as guest relations and quality manager from 2005 to 2009. She then became area quality analyst at the company’s corporate office. Ana’s application of a four step innovation framework was published by American Society of Quality ‘Systematic Approach for Making Innovation a Core Competency’ in 2009, and she has presented at Harvard University Graduate School and the Malcolm Baldrige Awards Recipient Conference. This autumn, she will be a key speaker at the 2014 Cornell Hospitality Research Summit where Dorchester Collection’s engagement strategy will be presented to the hospitality community.