Special RepoRt : Leadership
EvErywoman hotEliEr
Shan KanagaSingham , new YorK CitY area general manager , 1 hotelS
Go right ahead . Call Shan Kanagasingham a “ people person .” She ’ s fine with that . The Malaysian-born , European-raised area general manager for Starwood Capital ’ s nascent 1 Hotels brand is the first one to admit that she adores the face-to-face part of her job . “ The ability to mentor and have a positive impact on the employees that I lead is one of the best things about my job … to see a room attendant become a housekeeping manager and beyond , a guest service agent become a director of rooms , etc .” She cites her mentor , Jumeirah Group ’ s Nicholas Clayton , with instilling in her the value that “ people work for people , not organizations .”
The first 1 Hotel was due to open March 13 in Miami Beach , which will be followed by a late April opening in
New York City at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 58th Street . Later this year she will oversee leadership and direct daily operations for the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park .
Creating 12-month mentoring programs where she works on set objectives with both leaders and line employees was high on Kanagasingham ’ s priority list when she came to the young brand from The Surrey Hotel in New York . It ’ s partly because she sees herself , despite a degree from Les Roches , as something of an Everywoman . “ I started my career as a guest service agent at The Ritz-Carlton , Kapalua ,” she says .
Her takeaway from that meteoric rise ? Don ’ t be a control freak — be a good example . “ You have to understand the
22 HOTELS April 2015 www . hotelsmag . com