Vice President – Operations & Development

  • Location:
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sector:
  • Human Resources
  • Profile Created:
  • 1 year ago

Skills

Education

Experience

  • Collective Hospitality | Thailand 2024 - Present

    Vice President – Operations & Development

    Led end-to-end operational oversight across a portfolio of multi-site businesses, with accountability for people, performance, governance, and financial outcomes across geographically dispersed locations. Directed operating strategy across diverse brands, ensuring consistency, compliance, and performance at scale. Governed P&L accountability, linking operational KPIs, guest metrics, and financials to sustain EBITDA. Designed enterprise frameworks covering service excellence, customer experience, and accountability. Established authority, escalation, and risk-governance matrices, enabling faster decision-making. Led cross-functional alignment across HR, Finance, L&D, and Operations to optimize organizational structure. Revamped group-wide compensation structures and leadership capability frameworks to align performance. Standardized operating procedures, reporting cadence, and reviews to drive predictable, data-led performance. Delivered a 20% reduction in operational overhead through portfolio restructuring and role optimization. Achieved 95%+ brand compliance across multiple global brand standards. Drove a 25% market share increase through asset repositioning and commercial strategy refinement. Improved Net Promoter Score (NPS) by +12 points and online review scores by +18%. Implemented digital operating systems delivering a 40% improvement in productivity. Reduced employee turnover by 25% while increasing internal promotions by over 35%. Elevated service competency by 22–40% across the portfolio through structured capability development.

  • Relais Chateaux | South Asia 2023 - 2024

    Vice President – Org Development

    Led regional strategy, luxury service architecture, and performance enablement across owner operated luxury properties, aligning brand DNA, profitability, sustainability, & talent depth in high experiential environments. Directed luxury culture, DEI, and talent, embedding emotional intelligence, and service across properties. Governed cost optimization, workforce modeling, and productivity while protecting luxury service standards. Designed and deployed luxury service, guest journey, and brand storytelling framework. Led initiatives across Operations, Marketing, HR, and Owners to balance heritage, experience, and commercials. Oversaw F&B refinement, culinary positioning, and menu engineering, improving contribution margins. Supported rooms allocation, yield strategy, upselling, and guest mix optimization to improve revenue & profits. Implemented digital development, and capability platforms to accelerate onboarding and service consistency. Advanced CSR, sustainability, and responsible luxury initiatives aligned with global brand commitments. Led portfolio expansion, pre-opening, and entrepreneurial operating models in emerging luxury markets. Elevated luxury service competency by 40% across regional portfolio. Improved DEI representation by 25% and reduced regretted attrition by 15%. Improved F&B profitability through menu engineering and experiential refinement. Optimized manpower cost ratios while maintaining premium service benchmarks. Strengthened brand storytelling, guest curation, and experiential consistency across properties. Enabled scalable luxury performance through system-led learning and operating frameworks.

  • Marriott International 2022 - 2023

    Cluster Director of Human Resources & Training

    Strategic Learning: Designed and implemented a comprehensive onboarding program which reduced the time-to- competency for new hotel staff by 40%, leading to quicker guest service improvements and a 15% increase in guest satisfaction scores within the first three months of employment. Technological Advancements: Introduced a Digital Learning Platform with a mobile-friendly learning management system (LMS) tailored for hospitality. This led to a 60% increase in course completion rates and allowed staff to access training materials on the go. Cultural Development: Launched a diversity and inclusion initiatives which Increased the representation of DEI groups in leadership roles by 25% within two years—also, improved overall employee satisfaction scores by 20% by fostering an inclusive work environment. Innovative Training Programs: Developed service excellence & technical courses which combined online modules with hands- on training, led to a 30% improvement in guest feedback scores related to service quality. Established a Partnership with a Renowned Hospitality Schools: Facilitated a continuous flow of top-tier talent into the company and provided staff with opportunities for advanced courses, resulting in a 50% increase in internal promotions. Cost Efficiency: Optimized training budgets by transitioning to blended learning models and leveraging in-house talent for training delivery, achieved a 35% reduction in annual training costs without compromising on quality. Leadership Development: Prepared high-potential employees for managerial roles, leading to a 45% increase in internal leadership placements and reduced recruitment costs. Feedback and Continuous Improvement: This allowed for real-time adjustments to training programs. As a result, course relevancy scores improved by 50%, & there was a 30% increase in the practical application of learned skills on the job.

  • Pyramid Global Hospitality, USA. 2021 - 2022

    Director of Human resources and Training

  • ONYX Hospitality Group, Thailand. 2018 - 2021

    Area Director of Learning & development

  • Al Jarwani Group, Oman. 2016 - 2018

    Director of HR - Franchised Operations

  • Aitken Spence Hotels, Sri Lanka. 2014 - 2016

    Manager - Learning And Development

  • Samsung Electronics, South Korea. 2012 - 2014

    Manager-Support Services

  • ARPICO Hypermarkets, Sri Lanka. 2010 - 2012

    Assistant Manager - Operations

  • Bharti Airtel Mobile Services, India. 2008 - 2010

    Senior Executive - Brand

Languages

English
Proficient
Sinhala
Proficient
Thai
Beginner
Arabic
Beginner