CEO Agenda provides unique insights into how leaders think and lead and what keeps them busy in a world of constant change. We look into the lives, minds and agendas of CEOs at the world’s most iconic companies.
If you’d ask an advanced AI model to come up with the ideal CEO for Four Seasons, the luxury hospitality group owned by Bill Gates that operates 130 hotels in 47 countries, and offers “experiential offerings” on yachts, jets, and the world’s most exclusive bars and restaurants, I figure it would suggest someone like Alejandro Reynal.
Reynal looks the part: in his early 50s, the hospitality executive is well-groomed, likes to stay fit, and has his home base in Miami, a city that bathes in new luxury developments. The Harvard Business School graduate also speaks in a polished and polite way, exuding the sense of high-end hospitality synonymous with the hotel group.
130
The number of hotels and resorts operated by Four Seasons.
Reynal’s answers in today’s CEO Agenda reinforce that image. He reveals that some top managers really do live and lead in a textbook way. Reynal gets up at 5 a.m. for a workout and meditation, likes to clear his inbox at the end of each day, and looks up to giants of the managerial class, such as Roberto Goizueta, the former Coca-Cola CEO. His CV looks like that of a CEO in a fantasy world.
If other CEOs in this series indicate some hints of eccentricity or peculiar personality traits, in our more personal questions, Reynal displayed none of it, either. His favorite company as a consumer? Four Seasons, he said at first, before reverting to Montblanc, the Swiss high-end pen manufacturer. Even our Zoom conversation was timed to perfection.
Though being so “perfect” isn’t my style – my inbox is currently at 8,307 unread, and I’m lucky if I get a workout once a week – I found it somehow fitting that the head of the world’s most luxurious hospitality group does live up to the image. This may be the smoothest, most polished “CEO Agenda” so far. And that’s alright with me.
This interview has been edited for brevity.
Down to business
Fortune: What is the single most important project you are working on with your company?
Alejandro Reynal: When I joined Four Seasons 20 months ago, I knew the company was an industry leader. But to stay ahead amidst an evolving competitive and market landscape, we initiated a strategic refresh with a clear multi-year plan….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Fortune | FORTUNE…
