Michelle Woodley

Meet Michelle Woodley... She is the newly-appointed President of Preferred Hotels & Resorts after more than 15 years of experience in various roles such as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Strategy, Senior Vice President of Revenue Management & Distribution and most recently, Executive Vice President. Prior to joining Preferred Hotels & Resorts, she held various positions for Swissotel and Raffles Hotels & Resorts in the various operations, revenue management, distribution, and marketing disciplines.If you're not familiar with the brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is the world's largest independent hotel brand, representing more than 700 distinctive hotels, resorts, residences, and unique hotel groups across 85 countries, with 35 worldwide offices and 300 associates.Read on to learn more about her and her inspiring story as one of the leading hoteliers in the luxury hospitality industry.

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself.

With my recent promotion, I am excited to serve as President and oversee multiple departments including sales, marketing, IT, revenue management, and customer relations. I work closely with our CEO, Lindsey Ueberroth on financial planning and talent management, and support the development of other strategic areas of focus within the organization.On the personal side, I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago (yes, I am a lifelong Cubs fan!) and live there today with my husband and two teenage sons. My grandparents on both my mother and father's side immigrated to the United States from Greece. So if you catch me talking with wild hand gestures, don't be alarmed!After graduating from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, I have been fortunate to travel globally for business and pleasure and consider myself a global citizen. My love for travel also includes a passion for languages, so I can speak and understand Greek, Spanish, and German, all to varying degrees.

Read the full article at Preferred Hotels & Resorts