Duncan O’Rourke, CEO Accor Hotels Northern Europe, Reveals His Secrets to Success
In this episode, Jeannette talks to Duncan O´Rourke who is the Chief Executive Officer of Northern Europe at Accor. He talks about his early life, living in South Africa, and then being educated in an English boarding school. How these things shaped the man he became and the career path he chose to follow. Duncan explains what it is like to run a brand that serves multiple sectors of the travel business. They also talk about how to build a strong team even though there is a severe shortage of talented people, at the moment. Dealing with the challenge of climbing the corporate ladder. As well as learning to switch gears and stop being the CEO when you are at home.
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Show Notes
In this episode, Jeannette talks to Duncan O´Rourke who is the Chief Executive Officer of Northern Europe at Accor. He talks about his early life, living in South Africa, and then being educated in an English boarding school. How these things shaped the man he became and the career path he chose to follow.
Duncan explains what it is like to run a brand that serves multiple sectors of the travel business. They also talk about how to build a strong team even though there is a severe shortage of talented people, at the moment. Dealing with the challenge of climbing the corporate ladder. As well as learning to switch gears and stop being the CEO when you are at home.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- What luxury is and means to people is constantly changing.
- Personalised service is a key component of what people expect from a luxury brand.
- You can't manage the IBIS brand the same way you manage the Raffles Hotel brand. But attention to detail is essential at all levels of the hotel industry.
- Climbing the corporate ladder is stressful. For every new role, you will have holes in your knowledge. Being honest about what you don't know is important.
- Stress is a part of respecting the challenge that you are facing.
- Surround yourself with people who are better than you.
- Employ self-starters who have sound values.
- There is a massive shortage of talented staff within the travel industry. Duncan estimates between 10 and 15%.
- During times of crisis, clear and regular communication is vital.
- Diversifying your team must not be about quotas. You just need to be genuinely open to hiring the right person for the job.
BEST MOMENTS
‘For me, luxury is limited by definition, it is personalised. ´
‘During those times when you have those sleepless nights, remind yourself what is going right.’
‘Our clients are diverse, so we embrace diversity and think it's important.’
‘Pretty good is not good enough. You always want to deliver your best.’
This is the perfect time to get focused on what YOU want to really achieve in your business, career, and life. It’s never too late to be BRAVE and BOLD and unlock your inner BRILLIANCE. If you’d like to join Jeannette’s FREE Business Impact Seminar just DM Jeannette at [email protected] or sign up via Jeannette’s linktree https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brave-bold-brilliant-podcast/id1524278970
EPISODE RESOURCES
LinkedIn : https://ch.linkedin.com/in/duncan-o-rourke
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT THE GUEST
Duncan O’Rourke is Chief Executive Officer Northern Europe at Accor.
Duncan joined Accor in 2016 as COO for the Luxury and Premium segment before taking over as COO Central Europe. In his capacity, he was responsible for more than 470 hotels and 13 brands in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Upon his appointment as CEO of Northern Europe in October 2020 Duncan became a member of the Group’s Executive Committee.
Duncan has over 30 years of experience within the industry and has held several executive positions in Europe, the US and the Middle East. From 2004, he served as General Manager for Kempinski in various destinations before being promoted to the position of Region Director overseeing the Operations of the properties in the Middle East. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Kempinski Hotels and became part of the Management Board at the same time.
Duncan holds a degree from Cesar Ritz Colleges in Switzerland and an MBA from Reims Management School.
ABOUT THE HOST
Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.
Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams.
CONTACT THE HOST
Jeannette’s linktree - https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot
https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/
YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsU57ZGoPhm55_X0qF16_Q
LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot
Facebook - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jeannette.linfoot/
Podcast Description
Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences of being Brave, Bold & Brilliant, which have allowed them to unleash their full potential in business, their careers, and life in general. From the boardroom tables of ‘big’ international businesses to the dining room tables of entrepreneurial start-ups, how to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and take risks, whilst staying ‘true’ to yourself is the order of the day.