The 2016 Leadership Forum was inaugurated by Jose Bernal, Mayor of Marbella, and the President of the Association of Businesses and Professionals (CIT Marbella), Juan José González.
Carlos Diez de la Lastra, Director General and CEO of the International School of Hotel Management Les Roches Marbella, committed to the education of their students as a way to achieve leadership.
Last Friday, April 22, Les Roches Marbella hosted the latest edition of the forum aimed at business leaders under the slogan: “New Models for Business, New Models for Leadership”. The event, featuring experts like Kike Sarasola, Margarita Alvarez Perez de Zabalza and Felix Ruiz Hernandez, was followed by more than a hundred attendees and highlighted the need for changes in the sector in order to adapt to the new demands of the public while empathizing with employees to help their business projects to establish new models of success.
Carlos Díez de la Lastra, General Director & CEO of Les Roches Marbella, moderated the debate and highlighted that “to train a manager is not only to instil technical skills but also to teach the students to be human beings with the objective of living happy and fulfilling lives as key to their success.” He went to explain to the audience that Les Roches Marbella’s programs are based on the combination of Swiss hotel tradition and the American educational system, with the sole aim of promoting the student’s professional development and personal skills. According to Diaz de la Lastra, “trusting your project and conveying passion is almost as important as a good business plan, and that’s what we try to teach our students every day in our school”.
Kike Sarasola, President & Founder of Room Mate Hotels and BeMate.com, acknowledged that the hotel & tourism industry is about to undergo a real revolution and business leaders in the sector must improve in all areas in order to ensure their success. The key to Sarasola is to bet on a brand-based on experience, innovation and “walk in the shoes of each customer.” He went to highlight the need “to create a team that grows with the employees, to listen to them and to share the company and its essence with them”.
Meanwhile, Margarita Alvarez Perez de Zabalza, Director of Marketing and Communications at Grupo Adecco Group, shared her ideas on the keys to implementing new life philosophies for companies and professionals in order to achieve significant changes in corporate culture. She stressed the need to be authentic, to believe in the project and to boost motivation as the way to becoming an effective leader with happy workers. Perez de Zabalza recommends that managers ask their employees to enjoy their own life experiences because “we must align our personal passion with a passion for the company”.
All the participants agreed that it is fundamental to surround themselves with a great team. To listen and respect all opinions should be part of any organization who seeks success that also includes happiness, fun and creativity.
In addition, during the day, Felix Ruiz Hernandez, founder of the social network TUENTI and CEO of JobandTalent.com, stressed to the audience that the essence of his past success has been to surround himself with talent and later to nurture it. “The first thing is to believe in something and then go build it because “talent, in the end, can do anything.”
