Women in hospitality leadership – career choices and creating opportunities

Andrea Obertello is currently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in Milano, Italy.  In this podcast, Andrea talks about her career choices and how she became General Manager in an industry that is predominately male.  She talks about working in the iconic Milano Four Seasons Hotel, located in a 15th century convent, the second oldest Four Seasons hotel in Europe.  Andrea compares hospitality in Italy to other places she has worked and analyses the changes she has seen in the hospitality industry over the past 10 years

Originally from Argentina, Andrea has worked at Four Seasons Hotels in Miami, Doha and Marrakech but she feels at home in Italy where her family originated from.  Andrea is upbeat and positive when she talks about the challenges she has had to face in the hospitality industry and she shares some of her success stories and emphasizes the importance of creating and welcoming opportunities. 

Finally, she gives our listeners insight into her leadership and communication styles and shares some of her hospitality philosophy and anecdotes.

Andrea holds a degree from Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland and began her career with Four Seasons as a receptionist in Uruguay. She has worked in many hotel positions during her career, which has led to her understanding of the many faceted aspects of running a successful hotel.  She has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities Four Seasons has given her to work in different places such as South America, North America, the Middle East, Europe and North Africa.