Top international award for young Corinthia Hotels manager
Thirty-three-year-old Maltese national, Roderick Micallef, acting general manager and director of finance at the CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) operated five-star Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal, was proclaimed winner of the prestigious International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Young Leader Award 2010. The award, co-sponsored by IHIF and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), was presented to Roderick Micallef by Jonathan...
Now in its second year, the Young Leader Award was created by IHIF, in conjunction with ISHC, to celebrate the excellence of young emerging leaders in the hospitality industry and to reward an outstanding individual with the title of IHIF Young Leader of the Year. The IHIF Young Leader must be under 35 years of age, currently work in a hospitality-related field, have completed a significant project for his or her hotel or organization and be recognized by leaders of his or her own hotel or organization as an emerging leader. He must also be based in a European country. The judging panel for the Young Leader Award 2010 included no less than 15 top professionals from the leading hospitality brands worldwide.
“Following the success of last year’s Young Leader Award, we are delighted to again reward another deserving young leader in the industry," said Bench Events chairman Jonathan Worsley: “It’s extremely important to look for the rising stars in the industry to acknowledge their contributions and encourage them to even greater achievements. It is more important than ever before to focus on the leadership of the future in a time of economic uncertainty.”
Congratulating Roderick on his achievement, CHI Hotels&Resorts CEO and managing director Tony Potter commented: “We entrusted Roderick with the dual role of acting general manager and director of finance of Lisbon’s largest hotel and spa at such a tender age, because we strongly believe that he has the potential to become one of the best leaders in the Industry. With his energy, positive attitude, personality, and knowledge, Roderick is fast developing our Corinthia Hotel Lisbon into one of the world’s greatest MICE and spa destinations. He has introduced innovative hotel products and marketing initiatives, while constantly focusing on customer service excellence and employee motivation. Corinthia is driven by a central belief that if we treat our team members well, in return they will deliver exceptional service to our guests, and that will bring success to Corinthia, and great satisfaction to each one of us that works for this remarkable company.”
After working at other Corinthia hotels in Malta, Roderick Micallef was appointed to the role of director of finance at the Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in January 2004. In May of last year, he also successfully took on the additional job of acting general manager and has since achieved success in both assignments, maximizing on revenues, strengthening brand awareness, and increasing customer loyalty. Within the first few months of taking over general management responsibility for the hotel, Roderick oversaw two major projects that have enhanced the hotel’s portfolio of products: the completion of a new state-of-the-art business center, innovatively launched with a “Meet for Free" promotional offer, and the development of the Malo Spa - the largest spa complex in the city. Corinthia Hotel Lisbon is one of seven five-star landmark hotels owned by International Hotel Investments plc, a leading Maltese company, which is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange and which has entrusted the management of its hotels to its subsidiary company CHI.
An elated Roderick thanked the co-sponsors for the unexpected recognition: “I feel honored to be following in the steps of last year’s winner, Leslie McGibbon, senior vice president of corporate affairs for InterContinental Hotels Group. Corinthia Hotels, for whom I work and without whom I would not be here, is, of course, a much smaller organization, but no less concerned with the development of its young people. So I’d like to dedicate this award to all the young people who work in the seven Corinthia hotels and in the wider family of hotels, which are managed by CHI Hotels&Resorts. It’s often said that young people are the life-blood of an industry. Corinthia turns this saying into a reality but with respect for the contribution that all its team members bring. Any number of hotel companies could have helped me grow into a competent hotelier, but Corinthia trained me to become an expert in hospitality, which means much, much more. Corinthia is constantly on the look-out for those young men and women who will take pride in their own ability to go beyond what is strictly necessary to achieve a true masterpiece of hospitality service. My message to young hoteliers is to come and join Corinthia and one day, they, too, could be standing here, holding a trophy such as this.”
The International Hotel Investment Forum is a world-class conference aimed at bringing the industry together in a first-class location to deliver the very best educational program, outstanding networking opportunities, and the most senior level professionals from all areas of the industry. The conference agenda included interviews with leading hoteliers, forecasts from top economists, panel discussions on the latest developments, and trends and best practice in the hotel and investment industry, with an inspirational keynote speaker to conclude the three-day event. An average of 140 speakers, all leaders in their specialized fields, took part in the conference, ensuring that the program was as interesting and diverse as possible.