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June 06, 2021

Honesty and transparency: Julie Baker, Vice President for Operations in the UK & Ireland, Hilton: with Jonathan Bowman-Perks

Podcast Details

Top Tip

Be honest and transparent about the situation, but maintain positivity and always give people hope 
  1.  Julie Baker, Vice President for Operations in the UK & Ireland, Hilton

  

Julie Baker is an experienced business leader and a senior figure in the hospitality industry. Since joining Hilton as Vice President for Operations in the UK & Ireland in 2018, Julie has been at the helm of more than 50 Hilton hotels across the region. Julie’s career has been wide reaching – starting in marketing with Unilever, after graduating from University –  then holding a variety of FMCG senior management and international roles at Sara Lee before becoming Marketing Director for the UK&I.  Julie then held 2 Managing Director positions in the UK, Poland and then the Netherlands, and then moved to Capita, a FTSE 250 business services company where she was MD of a group of businesses providing services to clients in the HR outsourcing space.  She then joined Hilton 3 ½ years ago. 

  

Julie has overcome several challenges as a leader, most recently successfully leading 53 hotels through the pandemic. Running a nationwide hotel operation during unprecedented times has required her to act quickly and decisively to not only mitigate against commercial impact, but also keep morale high for the talented teams she works with. 

  

Julie has been responsible for thousands of Hilton Team Members, whilst anticipating the evolving landscape her teams operate in, from last-minute changes to restrictions, to closures and re-openings and changing legislation. She has been pivotal in ensuring that Hilton leads the way to recovery, in hygiene and cleanliness, whilst providing a gold-standard service to its guests. 

  

Her leadership tip – Be honest and transparent about the situation, but maintain positivity and always give people hope 

On social Media Julie describes herself as follows:

Experienced Business Leader.
Hilton, Sara Lee, Unilever & Capita

I have a track record of delivering impressive results through engaging and mobilising teams around a compelling vision & clear strategy. And through disruptive thinking: the ability to see perspective and possibilities where others don’t.

I have worked in consumer goods, professional services & hospitality.

I strongly believe (& have found) that if you create the right environment for people to thrive in, provide them with an inspiring vision & compelling strategy and give them the autonomy to deliver, you will achieve amazing results.

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