The Art Of Leading From The Front

Hospitality is unabashedly a male bastion. Yet, Dr Jyotsna Suri, who came to head Bharat Hotels, as its CMD, due to an act of fate, transformed her fledgling business into a powerhouse. She talks about the challenges, the turning points, the future of hospitality, and her passion for creating environmentally sustainable hotels

- Gurmeet Sachdev

You joined The LaLiT Hotels as the joint managing director in 1989. What has your journey from that point to now, as CMD of Bharat Hotels, been like?

My journey over the last three decades has been extremely eventful. I went through several ups and downs, learnt a lot, faced numerous difficulties and emotional upheavals. However, I overcame each one of those challenges and persevered my goals. I worked very closely with our founder chairman, Mr Lalit Suri, as the joint managing director of the company. I learnt fast, as I thoroughly enjoyed my work.

In October 2006, I took over as the group’s chairperson and managing director. It was the biggest emotional setback in my life. I took control of my emotions and immersed myself completely into my work. I had to take the legacy forward; besides, the responsibility of my 2,500+ workforce motivated me to move on. I went headlong into the development of the hotels. I was propelled with unusual energy, which resulted in us doubling our inventory. We grew from six hotels to 14, in record time.