Hospitality Design - July 2016 - 137

A Hotel Molitor Paris guestroom

(WAAG). "When I started my career, the
hotel sector-particularly at a certain level
of the hierarchy-was a man's industry and
I felt really alone during meetings, debates,
or deep conversations about business. I had
to spend a lot of energy to convince my male
colleagues or bosses. Imagine, I had never
had a female boss." The ambition of WAAG,
which Colliat contributed to creating and
served as the first president, is to help a
new generation of women succeed in their
careers "in the same conditions men do," she
explains.
She's also proud of Accor's global
commitments including its alliance with the
United Nations' HeForShe campaign, which
sheds light on gender inequality issues-as
one of 10 companies to join the campaign's
A water view at the Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa in Uruguay

an ambitious and hardworking person to
progress," she says, adding "I felt like a
duck in water." Colliat took her first GM
position at a hotel in Paris when she was
only 25 years old, moving jobs and locations
numerous times before taking one of her
"most prominent" positions as GM of the
brand's 650-room hotel in London.
After 20 years with Accor, Colliat moved
over to Club Med, rising to vice president
of operations for North America, Central
America, and the Caribbean region to help
reposition the French all-inclusive brand
for the upscale travel market. "It was a great
experience with many challenges-among
them a lot of renovation projects," working
with designers and architects for the first
time in her career, she says.
In 2006, she returned to Paris and
rejoined Accor, this time as part of Sofitel,
dedicated to repositioning the brand to
target a new global, luxury audience. It
was a huge undertaking: Accor eliminated
80 hotels from the network, renovated the
rest, and opened more than 40 properties-

implementing hundreds of new standards
and training employees to deliver service in
line with French living and local culture. It
was "a real success and great achievement
for me," Colliat says.
Promoted in 2009 to senior vice
president of operations for Sofitel Europe,
Middle East, and Africa, Colliat then took
on the role of executive vice president of the
NCAC region before moving to her current
position last year, where she manages 45
hotels across various brands in the region.
There's still a lot to look forward
to. Expected to close shortly is Accor's
acquisition of Fairmont Raffles Hotels
International, a move that will "position
AccorHotels at a different level in the luxury
sector," she says. Another change: recently
appointed chairman and CEO Sébastien
Bazin's vision for the company, which will
"transform the way we manage our business,
but also how we manage our people."
Part of the shift is shaping women's
careers within the company through its
Women at Accor Generation network

Santa Teresa Hotel RJ MGallery
by Sofitel in Rio de Janeiro

Photo by TADEU BRUNELLI

IMPACT 10x10x10 pilot program, it has
pledged to address gender parity in the
company, and to contribute to changing
mentalities in the hospitality industry by
paying particular attention to female guests.
Giving back enhances Colliat's career
devotion: "I do not regret my choices," she
says. "I had, and still have, a passionate and
very rich professional life."

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Photo by BORIS ZULIANI

A rendering of the Sofitel Mexico Reforma, set to open in mid-2018
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