Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer of Accor Hotels and President of Accor’s Orient Express luxury brand, returns as a guest on Leading Voices to talk about the hospitality business generally and starting up a luxury hotel and leisure brand.

This is my second conversation with Gilda. We first spoke in 2019 when she was CEO of JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group and had a broad conversation about her career and the drivers of the global hospitality business. Now, six years later, we talk about Gilda's career move into an operating company and Accor's overall strategy as one of the leading hospitality companies worldwide, although one with a smaller footprint and brand recognition in the United States.

For me, the most interesting part of the conversation was her role in building Accor's new Orient Express luxury hotel and leisure brand. Gilda talks about history and authenticity being maybe the most essential tool in her toolkit to grow her brand — something I really loved in a world where shine and surface so often rule over authenticity, history, tradition and depth. It was really, really interesting to explore this on the show with Gilda, especially as we are entering 2025. In a world that is, to me, largely defined by rapid change and uncertainty, it is great to talk about a business that gains its value from that which is enduring and constant.

Resources:

• Gilda Perez-Alvarado | Accor
• Gilda Perez-Alvarado | LinkedIn

Related Episodes:

• 2019 Episode with Gilda Perez-Alvarado | CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group
• 2019 Episode with Cedric Bobo | Co-Founder & CEO of Project Destined
• 2024 Episode with Cedric Bobo | CEO & Co-Founder, Project Destined Adrian Foley | Managing Partner, Brookfield Real Estate Group
• 2022 Episode with Owen Thomas | CEO of Boston Properties

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