Get to know Leanne Harwood, Managing Director of IHG Australasia and Japan
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Aug 6, 2018
Get to know Leanne Harwood, Managing Director of IHG Australasia and Japan
Appointed to Managing Director in January 2018, Leanne Harwood speaks exclusively to The Hotel Conversation about IHG in the region - with her responsibilities including the operations, growth and performance of the more than 70 hotels in Australasia and Japan.
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IHGGet to know Leanne Harwood, Managing Director of IHG Australasia and Japan
In this role, Leanne oversees the regional teams in Sydney and Tokyo as they to continue the fantastic growth momentum in Australasia and prepare for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Leanne has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with more than a decade at IHG. Before being appointed to this role, Leanne was Vice President for IHG's operations in South East Asia and Korea, based in Bangkok, overseeing the operations and performance of more than 60 hotels in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Korea – a number that is due to double over the next few years.
She had also worked for a number of hotel companies in a variety of countries including Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and French Polynesia.
How did you get into the hotels industry?
My journey into hospitality started with food and beverage. As a twenty-something growing up in New Zealand I was obsessed with skiing so, in order to fuel that passion, I started working in a bar in the evenings so I could ski all day.
At the time the job was a means to an end, and the end was one I hadn’t anticipated.
It turns I loved working in the bar almost as much as I enjoyed the slopes, and before I knew it I had taken the leap to hotel F&B. The rest is history. I have worked my way up through the hotel industry ever since, moving into sales, commercial, operations and now an exciting move into my new role as IHG’s Managing Director for Australasia and Japan.
It just goes to show how amazing this industry is: where else can arrive without a formal education, start in the kitchen and work your way up to become a Managing Director at one of the world’s leading hotel companies?
What are some of your career highlights from your time in the industry?
Nearly every day of my career has been a highlight, but there are a few that stand out specifically, such as being part of a hotel opening team in Tahiti, setting up IHG’s first global sales office in India, and opening Asia’s first Hotel Indigo in Bangkok,
But the icing on the cake has been stepping into the role I am in now, and I am so thrilled and honoured to take on the challenge. It’s a brilliant time to come back to Australasia as IHG continues its growth momentum.
I’m so blessed to work with a brilliant team, and proud that we’re now enjoying our best year ever, including the first deal globally for IHG’s new upscale brand, voco.
How will IHG continue to make its mark on the Australasia hotel industry in the next 5-10 years?
Australasia is the place to be and It’s been a phenomenal year for IHG. Since the start of 2017 we’ve signed eighteen hotels and opened eight, including InterContinental Perth City Centre, Crowne Plaza Christchurch and Holiday Inn Sydney St Marys, all of which show of the best of their brand.
That momentum looks set to continue in 2018 and beyond. We continue to sign great hotels with amazing owners, especially in the luxury and lifestyle space, and from 2019 we are excited to start opening them.
Excitingly, the iconic Hayman Island by InterContinental will open its doors to luxury travellers in the first half of 2019. We’ll continue the rollout of Holiday Inn Express, open the first of our Hotel Indigo properties from 2020, and bring our wellbeing brand, EVEN Hotels, to New Zealand.
Of course, as a company committed to True Hospitality, our greatest passion is reserved for our people, and we are resolutely focused on championing diversity and inclusion. A hotel team is a rainbow of nationalities, cultures, ages, qualifications, sexualities and creeds, and each has an equal voice and opportunity. We have already done a lot to shift the needle around every aspect of diversity, and my aspiration is for IHG to be seen as the ‘gold standard’.
What are the biggest issues facing IHG at the moment?
The big challenge for our industry is the crusade for talent. With such a positive industry outlook & IHG’s strongest pipeline in a decade, attracting & growing the best talent will continue to be a priority
We are focused on redefining careers that cater to Millennials’ desire for fast-tracked career advancement with industry-first employee L&D opportunities, flexible working conditions, accelerated growth and diversity initiatives.
We also work closely with industry bodies to push for change and promote hospitality to the workforce of the future. With ever tightening constraints on skilled visas and the increase in hotel supply, the industry can’t rely on filling our skills shortages from overseas, so we need the next generation of Aussies and Kiwis to see this as an aspirational industry to work in.
How has the hotel industry changed in the time you have been involved with it?
Intrinsic inclusion. Anyone in the 21st century with an iota of common sense recognises that a diverse team is critical for balanced and creative thinking. But it’s been a journey getting to this point.
Gender diversity has been the most profound change for me as a female leader. Twenty years ago I was told I wouldn’t make it because I would probably leave to have children. Thankfully, that kind of ‘glass ceiling thinking’ is a relic of the past and inequality is no longer an acceptable norm.
Yes, at the hotel General Manager level we do have more work to do to properly balance the scales, and we have been taking steps to do so, including the rollout of RISE, our mentoring initiative for female colleagues who aspire to be a GM.
What changes would you like to see over the next two to five years in the industry?
We need to reposition the industry for the next generation, and I believe one of the easiest ways we can start doing that is to kill the term ‘service industry’ and refer to ourselves as hospitality.
We risk alienating the next generation workforce by creating the idea of servitude, but as Millennials focus increasingly on experiences over things, let’s show them how they can bring life’s best experiences to life through True Hospitality.
What is your favourite hotel and holiday destination?
Asking a hotel leader to choose a favourite hotel is like picking a favourite child, it’s a tough decision!
However, if pushed I would have to say InterContinental Koh Samui, one of the most spectacular places in the world to chill out. I can’t think of many better joys in the world than walking barefoot across the beach to have char-grilled fish at the beachside restaurant, followed by champagne in the lounge and then finishing the day watching the sunset from the Infinity bar.
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