Executive Search for Hospitality Leaders
Hotels · Resorts · Cruise · F&B · Operations · Turnaround · Pre-Opening
I don’t match CVs to vacancies. I match people to operational reality.
I help hospitality businesses identify senior operational leaders who can lead people, take ownership and perform when the operation is under pressure.
For me, experience on paper is only the starting point. The real question is whether the person can actually function in the environment they are being hired into.
What I Actually Look For
Not titles. Not rehearsed answers. Not polished CV language.
I look for leaders who can walk into an operation, understand what is really happening, earn the trust of the team and take responsibility for changing what is not working.
A strong CV can open the door. It cannot tell me how someone reacts when the pressure rises, the numbers are wrong, the team has lost confidence or difficult decisions have to be made.
That is where leadership becomes visible.
Leadership · Accountability · Commercial Awareness · People · Operational Judgement · Delivery
Where I Can Help
Senior operational leadership across hospitality
I work with hotels, resorts, cruise operators, F&B groups and hospitality businesses that need experienced leaders who can step into responsibility quickly, understand the operation and deliver in the real world.
This includes established operations as well as pre-openings, rebuilding, turnaround and operational stabilisation.
Typical searches include:
Hotel Director / General Manager
Director of Operations / Operations Manager
F&B Director
Culinary Director / Corporate Chef
Executive Chef
Cruise & Shipboard Hotel Operations
Pre-Opening & Turnaround Leadership
And I am not limited by titles. If the operational challenge requires the right senior person, that is where the search starts.
How I Work
I do not send piles of CVs.
I start by understanding the operation, the pressure points and what the person in the role will actually be expected to fix, build, stabilise or improve.
Then I look for people whose experience, judgement, leadership style and resilience fit that specific environment — not simply the job title.
The process
1. Understand the operation
What is working, what is not, where the pressure sits and what needs to change.
2. Define the leader required
Not only experience and qualifications, but leadership style, judgement, operational credibility and the ability to function in that environment.
3. Identify and assess candidates
Focused search, direct conversations and practical evaluation — beyond rehearsed interview answers.
4. Present a short, relevant shortlist
Fewer candidates. Better fit. Clear reasoning behind every introduction.
5. Support the decision
I remain involved through interviews and final selection where required.
No volume recruitment.
No CV forwarding.
No candidate presented simply because the keywords match.
The objective is not to fill a vacancy. It is to put the right person into the right operational reality.
I come from operations, not recruitment.
I have spent more than 35 years leading people and operations across hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruise ships and demanding international environments.
I have hired people, built and rebuilt teams, opened operations and had to live with the consequences when the wrong person was put into the wrong role.
That means I do not assess candidates from outside the operation. I assess them from the perspective of someone who understands what the role will actually demand once the interview is over.
I know the difference between someone who can talk about leadership and someone who can actually lead when the pressure is real, the team is struggling and results still have to be delivered.
I am not looking for the best interview.
I am looking for the person who can do the job when the interview is over.
The Difference
Engagement Model
Every search starts with the business problem, not the vacancy.
Executive Search engagements are tailored to the role, operational challenge, complexity and geographic scope.
I work on a retained or hybrid search basis, agreed before the search begins. The structure may include an initial engagement fee followed by milestone or success-based payments.
The commercial structure is clear from the outset. Candidates are never charged for being considered, assessed or introduced.
Typical engagements may include:
Confidential Executive Search
Replacement and succession searches
International candidate search
Cruise and shipboard leadership search
Interim and project leadership
Pre-opening and turnaround appointments
Hard-to-fill senior operational roles
Scope before price. Clear fees. No CV database selling.
Need the right leader — not just another candidate?
When a senior appointment matters, the search should start with understanding the operation, the environment, the team and the result required.
If you need a hospitality or operational leader who can take ownership, lead people and deliver in the reality of the role, let’s talk.
Based in Mallorca. Working across Spain, Europe and internationally.