Luxury Hotelier - June 2008 - (Page 18)

18| Personalities The Sofitel Los Angeles (shown here and right, bottom) will be flagged as a So by Sofitel property, while the Sofitel Old Winter Palace in Luxor, Egypt (right, top), will become a Sofitel Legends property. ©SERGE DETALLE ©WILLIAM HUBER ©WILLIAM HUBER current portfolio of 200 down to a goal of 130 to 135, then building slowly from there. Another important aspect is people. “We had to have the right culture, management and people,” he says. “We put together a separate business unit, with a separate leadership team. We hired a chief operating officer from Marriott in Europe [Robert Gaymer-Jones], and installed a team around him, supported by Accor management.” Today, after more than a year of strategizing and positioning, Mr. Pélisson seems confident the pieces are in place: He split Sofitel off as a separate business unit within the Accor Group, headed by chief executive officer Yann Caillère and chief operating officer Robert GaymerJones. In December, he relaunched Accor’s upscale Pullman Hotels and Resorts brand dedicated to business and group travelers (and poised to absorb some of the current Sofitel properties that trend to upper-upscale rather than luxury). And the team surrounding him is committed to the new image of Sofitel. Calling them “great professionals, but with a humanistic touch,” Mr. Pélisson is quick to point out in every conversation that his leadership is strengthened by his team, many of whom he has worked with since he first joined Accor in 1983 [See sidebar at right]. “We put people first. We care. There is a very strong focus on the human aspect and on people development,” he says. “It’s about emphasizing the team spirit. The world is full of primadonnas. I’d rather have fewer primadonnas around me and more team players. That’s what I value.” “Gilles is a team guy. He is a leader, a respectful people-person,” Mr. Caillère says. “He’s international. The team is international. Sofitel looks more like the United Nations than France,” he says. Mr. Pélisson is the first person to point out that his attention to detail is wellknown around Accor. “It’s surprising to some of my colleagues who say, ‘Why is he going into so much detail?’” he says with a laugh. “I have to make sure every detail counts in our industry, and everyone needs to pay attention to detail. This is an industry of detail.” Two of those colleagues who know and appreciate Mr. Pélisson’s exactness are Christian Karaoglanian, Accor’s chief development officer, and Marc Brechignac, senior vice president development for Sofitel Worldwide. “We have lived a revolution in the past 12 months,” Mr. Brechignac, a 23-year A history of hospitality n his current role since January 2006, Mr. Pélisson is no newcomer to Accor. His career with the company began in 1983 and he spent six years in the United States leading one of the group’s restaurant chains. He then moved up to senior vice president of Accor’s Asia-Pacific region and was named cochairman of the Novotel hotel chain in 1993. After two years leading Novotel, he left to lead Euro Disney as chief executive officer. He became chairman and chief executive officer in 1997. Mr. Pélisson left hospitality in 2000, heading up the Suez-Telefonica ST3G consortium; assuming chairmanship of French cable network operator NOOS; and finally landing at Bouygues Telecom in 2001 as chief executive officer and chairman. Sofitel chief executive officer Yann Caillère is one Accor leader who has seen Mr. Pélisson’s career moves from the start. “We left Accor at the same time [Mr. Caillère joined Euro Disney in 1995 as well] … and he asked me to come back with him in 2005. We have worked together since,” he says. “This has been a lot of work and very exciting,” Mr. Caillère says. “At the end of the day, we have a motivated team. Gilles raises the bar.” I Luxury Hotelier | June 2008 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

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Luxury Hotelier - June 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Inform Journal Network Personalities Insight: Smith Travel Research/The Bench Properties Insight: Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Inspire Deliver Protocols Insight: HotelWorld Innovate Development Indulge Advertisers Index Editorial Index Source Listing Dossier

Luxury Hotelier - June 2008

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