The Rezidor Hotel Group hired what it says is the industry’s first Saudi female general manager, Maram Kokandi, to open the Park Inn by Radisson Jeddah Madinah Road in Saudi Arabia.
The appointment complements Saudi Vision 2030, launched last year, which emphasizes the significance of Saudi women and their role in leading the social and professional development of the Kingdom.
“The appointment of Maram is indeed an important step for her, for Rezidor and for the hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia,” says Wolfgang Neumann, now-former CEO of Rezidor Hotel Group, Brussels. “We are very proud to have the first woman in KSA leading a hotel. The empowerment of female talent is a key item of Our Promise – we want to attract, develop and retain women and have a balanced gender mix in all our teams.”
The hotel is scheduled to open later this year. Kokandi, who studied hospitality management in the United Kingdom before moving back to the Middle East, talked to HOTELS about the importance of her role and what inspires her as an hotelier.
HOTELS: Can you describe your career path and how it led to this opportunity?
Maram Kokandi: I have worked in various roles in the hospitality industry for most of my career. I worked for international hotel brands in Saudi Arabia, and I was appointed as the first Saudi female sales manager in a hotel. This particular role gave me invaluable experience in understanding the elements to launch a hotel as I joined during the pre-opening phase.
I was then given the opportunity to study for an international scholarship in hospitality. I moved to the U.K. to start studies in hospitality management, starting at Oxford Brooks University and then on to London Metropolitan University. I continued undergraduate studies before graduating in hospitality management from Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales.
Following my graduation, I returned to the Middle East and started working with the major hospitality and real estate developer Emaar. Following this I was given this exciting opportunity.
H: What experiences best helped you prepare and shape you for this new position?
MK: I believe my first position working for an international hotel brand in Jeddah helped shape me, as it was my first step into the hospitality world. The emotional energy and excitement of that experience gave me the passion and strength to achieve many accomplishments and made me who I am today.
My early role in sales gave me experience in revenue management, operations and sales and marketing. I learned to have long-term vision supported by clear business goals. This was one of the most important lessons from which I planned how to reach my goals and achieve my current position.
H: Are you mentoring other women, and what else might you do to support women to move forward as you have?
MK: I hope I have in some way been an inspiration to women, not just in Saudi Arabia but to all women seeking to grow their career in hospitality… It helps that I am now working for a company that wants to challenge existing thinking and increase the representation of women in senior positions across the entire company… My new role will mean I will be responsible for supporting and motivating a team of men and women to successfully launch our new hotel.
H: Do you have a “support group” at work — a group of other like-minded women?
MK: I am very happy to have joined a company where there is more than a support group. The Rezidor Hotel Group strongly advocates balanced leadership in the hospitality industry… When it comes to the development and retention of Rezidor’s female leaders there is a focus on long-term career planning. Women working in senior positions lead by example, and ‘STEPS’ is the organization’s official leadership program that focuses solely on high-potential women, encouraging them to recognize their potential and empowering them to progress to the level of general manager and beyond.
H: What does this milestone mean to you personally, and to other women aspiring to reach this level in the Saudi hotel business?
MK: I hope that I can be an inspiration to many other Saudi women looking to develop a career in hospitality. There is huge potential for growth thanks to Saudi Vision 2030 and the government’s emphasis on economic diversification… Vision 2030 also emphasizes the significance of Saudi women and their role in leading the development of both social and professional growth of the Kingdom. I do believe Saudi women will continue to provide more leaders either in the industry or outside. Saudi women have so far shown a great success in leadership positions and have proved there are able to not only meet the challenges before them but exceed expectations.
H: What are you most excited about experiencing and accomplishing in your new position?
MK: What I like most is the continual challenge that lies ahead of me as a leader. That includes taking a more strategic overview than before, planning ahead yet also paying sufficient attention to detail. Of course, any strong leader must lead by example and my team needs to be inspired to deliver a great experience to all of our guests.
H: What career advice do you have for other women in Saudi culture?
MK: My message is simple, as women we need to step out of our comfort zones and challenge ourselves. It is not a choice anymore; our society needs us, our country needs us and the country’s economic development depends on female participation. Our leaders have committed to the Vision 2030 and women have a major role to play in achieving this goal. Simply, the sky is the limit for your potential.
H: What do you see about company culture that could be improved to encourage other women to advance?
MK: One of the most important aspects is to recognize that this is not a women issue. Men play a hugely important part in creating the right culture and environment to support women in a company. At Rezidor there is a really strong culture for supporting women through the Balanced Leadership program, and men play such a vital role in the coaching, development and overall support. We do not look at this as a women issue. Rather, it is about gender balance.