Hotelivate Opens to Serve Hospitality Sector

Hotelivate Hospitality Sector India

January 10, 2018 – An array of new recruiting firms have been started around the world in recent months. The latest: Hotelivate, a hospitality consulting firm, has been launched in India by Manav Thadani and Megha Tuli.

The new operation comes as a result of Mr. Thadani, who served as HVS APAC chairman, ending his joint venture arrangement with HVS. “We are breaking away from HVS,” Mr. Thadani told the Economic Times. “The entire team of HVS India, around 42 people, are going with me. All the services will move to Hotelivate. We will do much more in terms of the service offerings. HVS predominantly did valuation and executive search. We will do that and a lot more.”

At HVS, he said, “we were able to bring in systems and processes never seen before in the region that helped us establish a niche for ourselves as consultants. With Hotelivate, we will add services to our portfolio.”

Hotelivate will open offices in Singapore and Bangkok in addition to its current locations in Delhi and Mumbai, said Mr. Thadani.

New Firm

The new firm also includes Natwar Nagar, managing partner, executive search; Achin Khanna, managing partner, strategic advisory; and Saurabh Gupta, managing partner, investment advisory and asset management.

Hotelivate’s portfolio includes strategic advisory (feasibility studies, valuations, management contract negotiation), executive search, professional skills development, investment advisory, asset management, revenue management, project execution planning and advisory and debt advisory.

Mr. Thadani brought HVS to South Asia in 1997. He grew HVS South Asia into a formidable consulting, valuation and executive search firm before launching Hotel Investment Conference South Asia in 2005.

A graduate of École hôtelière de Lausanne, Ms. Tuli started her career at HVS South Asia. Rising through the ranks, she became the youngest associate director of consulting & valuation before she turned her talents to launching a food tech company focused on Indian food. As co-founder of Hotelivate, she is responsible for the overall planning and execution of business and ensuring the ongoing growth strategy of the firm.

Industry Rebounding

After taking a massive hit during the Great Recession, employment and hiring within the hotel/hospitality industry has begun to rebound. In the last year, according to one set of survey metrics, the industry added 527,000 jobs (2.6 million since 2004). Predictions are that that number will increase this year, as global tourism and traveling in general are expected to rise.

The tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation. In light of the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrain and natural beauty of the country, Indian tourism is said to have significant potential. In addition to being a significant source of foreign exchange, tourism stands to boost employment. By 2030, India is on track to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five business travel market globally. International hotel chains are also expected to increase their expansion and investment plans in India. They are predicted to account for 50 percent share in the Indian hospitality industry by 2022, from the current 44 percent.

Open for Business

In recent months, new recruiting firms have opened around the world in not only the media and entertainment sector but a wide range of industries. Here’s a look at a recent sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Former Credit Suisse banker and personnel consultant Christian Haas has opened Haas Associates in Zurich to focus on the asset management industry. Mr. Haas has more than 10 years of practical experience in the field of asset management. Previously he was active as, amongst other things, the head of business development institutional clients at Credit Suisse.

Simon Pollock has launched Simon Pollock & Co in London, specializing in senior level executive search in global media and entertainment. Mr. Pollack most recently served as head of the media & entertainment practice at Heidrick & Struggles. Before that, he was a partner at the SevenArts, a boutique search firm.

Veteran executive recruiter Jennifer Muller has launched Academic Career and Executive Search (ACES), a higher education search firm focused on high precision, flexible executive search services, career planning and candidate coaching. Ms. Muller has 20 years of experience in research and development for higher education and Fortune 500 companies.

A new executive recruitment firm, Hanning Recruitment, has been launched in the U.K. It is headed by Toby Speke and backed by Rory Penn and Thomas van Straubenzee of the London agency VanHan. Mr. Speke previously worked for VanHan as well as global real estate firm Knight Frank.

Anuj Dhawan, former director and partner at Positive Moves Consulting, an angel investor in a Seattle-based healthcare IoT business, has founded executive search firm Cognitive Talent Partners LLP. Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, the firm provides executive search services to private equity funds, banks, consumer lending clients and global technology corporations.

Veteran Edward Batchelor has launched executive search firm Hardman Batchelor International, LLC. Based in Austin, TX, the firm specializes in recruiting and assessing leading board directors, CEOs and C-level executives with a particular focus on cultivating the Austin market.

The U.K. office of global search firm Boyden has launched a new executive search and interim management business called Savannah Group. Savannah’s team of 50 includes 20 partners that are specialists in their fields, including board and corporate functions, financial services, hospitality travel & leisure, industrial, digital and media, sport & entertainment industries.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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