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SHEILA MCCANN Sheila McCann GENERAL MANAGER, CHIVA-SOM


Sheila McCann was brought in to head up Thailand’s Chiva-Som, one of the world’s most famous destination spas, in late 2012. McCann started her career in spas as a therapist in Canada and over her 30-plus years in the industry she has worked for leading brands worldwide. Prior to Chiva- Som, she was the corporate director of spa brand quality at Asia-based Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts where she was responsi- ble for the growth of 35 spas globally.


What’s your background in spas? I feel this career chose me, not the other way around. From a young age I would cut out arti- cles on natural skincare, exercise and healthy lifestyles in different parts of the world. I would then take over the kitchen and make face masks, shampoos etc. I would race home from school at lunch to catch my favourite TV programme – a show on skincare and body- care presented by a glamorous Hungarian woman. Even science projects at school would be directed around a healthy theme. I grew up in a Canadian suburb in a county that had more horses than humans. Few shared my interests and it wasn’t long before the city lights of Montréal beckoned – after high school, I immediately signed up for an aesthetician course which required 2,000 hours of practice sessions. Soon after that I moved to Toronto where, I was fortunate to join Mira Linder which was the fi rst salon in Canada to venture into the day spa market.


www.spahandbook.com


As the Mira Linder business grew in repu- tation and volume, Lily attracted an amazing team of the fi nest specialty therapists. I saw fi rst hand the difference between technical competence as a skill and how this can evolve into an art form with real grace and intuitive understanding. They showed me that when you love what you do, it’s not work but a bless- ing in life – no matter what’s thrown at you. Hard work and dedication to continued


Mira, the namesake, and her daughter


Lily, exposed me to European culture and therapies, luxury service environments and increasingly trusted me to further develop and run their fast growing business which went from fi ve to 60 employees in fi ve years.


How did your career develop? At Mira Linder, I soon realised I’d need addi- tional business knowledge for continued success. Lily and her husband John, whose own background was advertising, encouraged me as I studied marketing management, lead- ership, economics and business development part-time via degree and certificate pro- grammes. I’ve now been a part-time student for over a decade as I love to learn!


learning brought me into the spotlight and eventually management roles. Unlike so many industry colleagues, I have continu- ally invested in my own education and have been prepared to remain loyal to each busi- ness for long enough to see the true impact of changes over many business cycles. I believe this ‘action learning’ provided me with a vision of understanding and then ultimately enabled me to optimise my potential through a longer term view of business requirements.


How are spas viewed in the hotel industry? The complexity of running a spa isn’t under- stood by most hoteliers as most come up through food & beverage or the rooms divi- sion. They don’t take spas seriously enough as an operation to ever really enable the full business potential, although, thankfully this pattern is starting to change. Spa people bring a new dimension of under-


standing about the emotional needs of guests, as well as staff, because a therapy background gives tremendous insights into reading peo- ple, often beyond their expressed needs.


spa business handbook 2013 53


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