Naureen Ahmed shares stories of inspiring women from the hospitality industry. Why they got into hospitality, their career journey so far, their learnings and who inspires them.
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September 29, 2026Episode 22528 min
225 Amanda Cottome: Take the initiative and make that first step
🎙 On this episode we hear from Amanda. Throughout her career she has been driven by building high-performing teams that create really successful hotels. What she likes about the industry is the complexity and diversity of the business side of hospitality. Three turning points in her career, being selected for the emerging leaders programme with Mirvac, then her first GM role at un underperforming property and finding her feet in sales and marketing and her third was moving to Ovolo Hotels where she later stepped into role that was managing across the portfolio which required a higher degree of influence. Amanda advocates for mapping out your plan for your goals, identify your gaps and find the opportunities to fill those gaps. Early career she constantly sought feedback to help her grow and to demonstrate her hunger for her own development. Build your network, strong relationships and you will always find the support when you need it. 🤗 What can you reach out to Amanda for: - Navigating a path in hotel operations - Working out how to balance ambition and the demands of hospitality - To talk about La Vie and their growth 🤩 Who inspires Amanda: - Jerry Xu - Girish Jhunjhunwala
September 10, 202613 min
# 14 of Naureen's journey: I am writing a book
Writing a book is a sentence I never imagined I would say. For a long time, I believed I was not a good writer, a mindset rooted in my early experiences. In school, as my dad reviewed my English assignments, it became clear that writing was not my strongest skill - numbers were. I spent a significant part of my career in revenue management and data analysis, but writing felt like a daunting task. Talking, however, was different. I could easily engage in conversations, whether on podcasts, panels, or stages. My curiosity drove these discussions, allowing me to ask questions that often went unasked. This passion led me to create the "Inspiring Women in Hospitality" podcast six years ago, which started as a passion project and became a lifeline during COVID. I'm proud to say we've reached over two hundred episodes, showcasing the remarkable talent of women in our industry. Reflecting on my journey, I realized that many of the guests I've interviewed have shared invaluable insights that kept me going during tough times. To give these stories a longer shelf life, I decided to analyse all 200 episodes to identify common themes and turn them into a book. I knew the title before the analysis even began: **Lead the Way**. This book will highlight the unique paths of these women, including my own journey of self-discovery and purpose. As I wrote, I found AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude invaluable in structuring the book and analysing episodes. This process has unearthed many of my own stories, which I had previously overlooked while focusing on highlighting others. The book will explore four key sections: 1. Know Yourself: The foundation of success lies in self-awareness. Understanding your strengths and preferences is crucial in choosing the right path. 2. Speak Up: Once you know yourself, share your thoughts and aspirations boldly. Communication is vital in achieving your goals. 3. Be Brave: Leading differently often means making unique choices that may feel solitary. Embrace them; your journey is your own. 4. Make an Impact: Women often prioritize impact over titles or salaries in their career decisions. This book will serve as a guide to leading authentically and making a difference. I am excited to share this journey with you through my Substack, where I will provide insights and frameworks from the book. If you'd like immediate access to the content I'm developing, consider subscribing. For those eager to take action now, I'm also offering one-on-one coaching through the "Lead the Way Coaching Program", designed to help you navigate your leadership journey. https://www.inspiringwomeninhospitality.com/lead-the-way Remember, embracing bravery and courage is not easy, but it is essential to lead in your own way. Let us take this journey together; you do not have to do it alone.
September 7, 2026Episode 22427 min
224 Jip Van Driest: Trust yourself that you will be ready
🎙 On this episode we hear from Jip. From a young age she developed a curiosity for people and places, that eventually led her to world of hospitality. She has now founded House of Place, which sits at the intersection of hospitality, real estate, capital and people. She realised early on that she wanted to have a career that combined both hospitality and real estate. She then moved across various sides of this industry, from advisory, owner, capital, operations, management and brand. She gained a holistic overview of the industry, with intention. Now she has embarked on her entrepreneurial journey with the intention of value creation by bringing the right structure together. We both agreed that we still notice a lack of female representations across positions of power. Women can bring a different perspective to the boardroom table to help the company make better decisions. 🤗 What can you reach out to Jip for? - Young leaders who are sitting at the intersection of hospitality and investment and are ambitious - Supporting women to get into rooms where decisions are being made - Through Houses of Place, she is being the right people and capital together to create value in the hotel industry. 🤩 Who inspires Jip?: - I am inspired by women built something and not lose themselves - Glyn Aeppel, founder of Glencove Capital - Women who can walk into any room and not feel they have to be the loudest person in it - Women who bring other women with them
August 25, 2026Episode 22323 min
# 223 Mari van den Bogaard: Hotels are a microcosmos in one building, filled with great people to give joy to others.
🎙 On this episode we hear from Mari. She followed the dual study and apprenticeship program that is very popular in Germany and led her into hospitality. And very early on she realised that she prefers to work for smaller and somewhat unique businesses. She has worked in Chinese restaurants, on a ranch in Canada, catering, boutique hotels in Germany and later chose to focus on hotel marketing. We also spoke about the importance of taking time out for yourself and gift yourself a proper break at some point in your career. It can help you to reset your nervous system, give your energy back and open the door to more opportunities. We spoke about networking, how important it is to invest in it time and effort because that is how you will get the cool opportunities. 🤗 What can you reach out to Mari: - All things marketing for hotels - SMACK Hospitality 🤩 Who inspires Mari? Decoration heavy hospitality concepts like 25hours hotels. And SMACK hospitality guest Barbara Muckermann.
August 17, 2026Episode 22226 min
#222 Veronica Asthana: To gather the audacity of an Indian woman
🎙 On this episode we hear from Veronica. She is the founder of a hyper local brand in India called "Local Lok". But her first business idea was to be a chef, driving a food truck selling local food. Even though she did not come from a family of entrepreneurs, they instilled in her the vale of education that led her to hotel school in Switzerland and exposed her to working with different nationalities. She had a fantastic experience working in Qatar during the football world cup, before returning to India. She realised she was not meant to be part of a corporate machine and wanted to make a greater impact doing something of her own. She wanted to create an inclusive, open and empathetic ecosystem that she had not seen in other workplaces she had experienced. 🤗 What can you reach out to Veronica for?: To gather the audacity of an Indian woman. Open to talking to anyone with a lot of passion. 🤩 Who inspired Veronica?: Her grandmother. A medical worker, a single mom and on the weekend she would teach kids.
August 10, 2026Episode 22135 min
#221 Judith Owens: Its important to be visible and for people to know that you are approachable
🎙 On this episode we hear from Judith. She is the CEO of TBL International and Titanic Belfast. She started her career in hospitality via the events industry and her career has really been at the forefront of seeing Belfast be reshaped as a destination for tourism. She started her events career in the Waterfront Hall as an AV technician and left as interim Managing Director. Having left school at 16, later on in her career she went back to education as she realised that she needed that formal and structured education in business to help progress in her career. She now supports those stars in her organisation and it is a joy to see them flourish as they pursue their educational goals. She shares with us the impact the Titanic Belfast has had on the economy in 15 years and also restored a sense of civic pride in Northern Ireland. Like many guests on my show she had a powerful, strong and confident female mentors at the start of her journey and has guided her along her career. 🤗 What can you reach out to Judith for?: Particularly those in early career in hospitality and tourisms, reach out to Judith and ask her questions. She loves talking about the opportunities and diverse roles you can have in our industry. Especially to answer this question: How to get into the industry? 🤩 Who inspires Judith: Two people involved with the Guiness Storehouse: Paul Carty and Catherine Toolan
July 27, 2026Episode 22024 min
#220 Abigail Tan: Stick to your values, that is how you will find peace
🎙 On this episode we hear from Abigail. Born and raised in Malaysia, then following her education in the UK she ended up staying for 23 years. She is a third generation family business of building hotels, so hospitality was always in her blood. She worked as the apprentice to the CEO of the UK properties they owned and got involved early on in the family business. In fact her first project for the family was when they bought tow hotels in New York and had to set up the brands for the hotels - St Giles. Alongside learning the business, each of her experiences taught her how to be a leader and that it learning to be calm and centre herself, that shaped her leadership. In fact it was her mentor who taught her that when it comes to leadership, stick to your values, that is how you will find peace. And now she is ready to embark on a whole new journey to expands her leadership within the family business as she returns to Malaysia. 🤗 What can you reach out to Abigail for: She loves a conversation, especially if its about hospitality. 🤩 Who inspired Abigail? : Her mentor Kent. Her team. Her friends running different charities.
July 20, 2026Episode 21924 min
#219: Amelia Perez: Always put yourself out and there and keep an open mind.
🎙 On this episode we hear from Amelia. Strategy and investor relations manager at Serene Capital. She started in consulting, then moved to development and now working on the owner side, which has given her a real holistic view of the industry. She comes from a family of doctors in Guatemala and while it was assumed she would follow the medical path, the decision to come into hospitality was unplanned, yet inspired by understanding how tourism can impact an economy. And then she had to pitch to her parents that moving across the world to pursue an education in Australia was a good idea. When its comes to her career opportunities she credits it to always putting herself out there, keeping an open mind and being clear with yourself about your non-negotiables. She is one of the co-founders of YHL with a desire to get people to connect and bridge the gap to build a strong network within the same age group. 🤗 What can you reach out to Amelia for: Honest conversations about where they are in their careers 🤩 Who inspired Amelia? - Gilda Perez-Alvarado from Accor - Jennifer Davey from Horwath - Jael Fischer from Six Senses
July 6, 2026Episode 21823 min
#21 8 Ruwani Weerasinghe: Dont be pushed around by fears in your mind, by led by the dreams in your heart
🎙 On this episode, we hear from Ruwani, Director Asset Management and Acquisition, La Vie Hotels & Resorts She describes herself as helping people make better investment decision. She grew up knowing that she was going to be in banking, so much so she landed her first banking role at the age of 18 in Sri Lanka and it was during this time she was exposed to fantastic female role models that helped her have a different mindset towards her career. It attributes strong self-belief for the success she has experienced in her career and it was instilled in her as a 14 year old child when she made her first wish/vision list. Not only did she work hard, which instilled in her confidence, she also made sure that the right people knew her through relationship building and working on herself every single day. 🤗 What can you reach out to Ruwani for: • Mentor for people who are starting out in their career journey. • Investors or developers who want to partner with La Vie 🤩 Who inspires Ruwani? : People, places, smell, feel and touch.
June 1, 2026Episode 21727 min
#217 Wendy Shi: Hospitality sits between people and capital
🎙 On this episode we hear from Wendy. She is CFO and executive VP of a hospitality group listed in Japan. In university she studies cultural management and history, and she started her career as a co-founder for a young adult summer school. And it was here she discovered the importance of understanding finances to make decisions for the business. So she re-educated herself as a CFA and CPA. Which then landed her a role in real estate and during this part of her career she was exposed to the hospitality industry. And or those who do not want to become CFO but also want to have a good grasp on the financial of a business, she recommends using AI as a tool to not only increase your efficiency but also broaden your horizon. I love how she says that AI can be the study partner, but they can never be the teacher. She very openly admits that she did not have a career plan, but she is grateful for it because it go her to where she is today by staying open to opportunities. She shares with us her experience of moving to Japan as a young female foreigner, which was hard to begin with but now she has found her footing bother personally and professionally. What can you reach out to Wendy for: • About Japan, hotel and real estate market. • Going through a career transition Who inspires Wendy? : Other people's strengths
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