Big interview
Bridging the gender gap Sheppard feels very blessed with her experience of working in the hotel industry and she puts this down, in part, to her “very supportive male colleagues”. In an industry where 53.7% of its employees are women, according to RegiÔtels, there is still a big gap when it comes to top management in hotels. But, for Sheppard, when IHG CEO Keith Bar set up the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion board, she got the opportunity to be a part of that and see just how passionate he and the group is about diversity and inclusion. “I’m in a company where, from the top, there is
absolute advocacy for creating a more diverse and inclusive environment. So that would have made my journey as a female leader significantly easier than others,” she adds. But that is not to say that Sheppard has not experienced this gender gap. “I have experienced being the only woman in the room, whether that was in internal meetings at a senior level, which fortunately has shifted over time, or out and about in the industry, and I guess that made me very aware of it. And also gave me the desire to want to change that for the future.” As Sheppard explains, there was a moment of truth one night where she asked herself if she wanted to sit back and accept this or do something about it. And do something she did. “With my team down in Australia we created a programme called ‘Rise’, which was designed to actually help those younger female leaders – emerging leaders – that we had in our hotels that had the aspiration and the ability to go on a track towards general manager, to be supported on that journey with mentoring and actually [have] male sponsors to advocate for them.
“It was incredibly gratifying to do that. I’m still in
touch with the first group that went through it and I get emails from them when they get a promotion. And, since then, we’ve taken it globally within IHG,” she continues. Sheppard is especially proud of her senior leadership team in Europe, which is practically 50/50 according to her – which would not have been the case five or six years ago. For Sheppard, though, it is not just about gender.
Through her Rise scheme she admits that on her path towards narrowing the gender gap she has become passionate about diversity and inclusion overall. “It’s something that’s big on the agenda within IHG,” she adds. As a leader, it is something she prides herself on. “I love assembling great talent. I passionately believe that the best outcome is when I find people that are much smarter than me at their respective areas, which I’m fortunate to have around me. “Creating a diversity of opinion and experience
and backgrounds, to me, is part of the recipe for how I lead. My job is to create enthusiasm for the
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
road ahead and make sure that great talent can really rally together to believe in that.” When she is not striving for diversity and inclusion,
Sheppard has been focused on expanding the IHG brand within Europe – something she describes as a “virtuous circle” where quality, clarity and values drive strong performance. “It’s always important when you think about growing a business to come back to the core principles of doing an excellent job.” IHG is not playing around, either. During the pandemic, IHG launched ‘Journey to Tomorrow’ – a set of commitments the hotel group hopes can help make a difference. As Sheppard sums up, “[it] is our ten-year plan for how we can impact the environment, people and communities in a positive way.” With this set up, Sheppard feels they are positively positioned to grow the business. “Getting the model right, being in the right places in terms of my teams that are there to support hotels and owners, enhancing our existing brands through quality programmes and launching new brands, [this] really sets us up for success and expansion in more markets than perhaps ever before.”
A zero-carbon future For Sheppard, and undeniably IHG itself, an important part of this growth is sustainability. “This is one of these issues that are bigger than IHG, they’re bigger than you and me. But small efforts everywhere can make a big impact,” she
13
Top: One of the suites at the Casa da Companhia Hotel in Porto, Portugal.
Above: The deck area of the Dona Filipa Hotel in Algarve, Portugal.
Opposite: Karin Sheppard, managing director, Europe at IHG Hotels & Resorts.
IHG Hotel & Resorts
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61
