Director of Procurement - Boutique Hotel Management Company, London

Client Challenge

A newly established luxury hospitality platform was embarking on an ambitious growth strategy, launching multiple boutique hotels while creating the foundations for a scalable management business. With several pre-opening projects underway and further expansion planned, the organisation required its first Director of Procurement to build a best-in-class procurement function from the ground up.

The brief extended far beyond traditional purchasing. The successful executive would be responsible for developing procurement strategy across all direct and indirect spend, creating a resilient supply chain, establishing governance and procurement policies, implementing systems, and supporting hotel pre-openings from an OS&E perspective. The business also sought a leader capable of balancing commercial discipline with sustainability objectives, supplier partnerships and the unique service standards expected within the luxury hospitality sector.

Our Approach

Drawing on our extensive hospitality network, we conducted an international search targeting procurement leaders from luxury hotel operators, owner-developers, hospitality management companies and high-end lifestyle brands.

Our assessment focused on executives who had successfully:

• Built procurement functions and operating models within fast-growing hospitality businesses.
• Developed category strategies across major areas of spend, including OS&E, food and beverage, hotel operating supplies, energy, labour and service contracts.
• Managed the full procurement lifecycle, from sourcing strategy and bid preparation through negotiation, supplier relationship management and contract governance.
• Delivered measurable cost savings through strategic sourcing, supplier segmentation, demand management and lifecycle value generation.
• Supported complex hotel pre-openings, including OS&E budgeting, procurement planning, supplier coordination and inventory management.
• Introduced procurement systems, reporting platforms and KPIs that provided greater transparency, compliance and commercial insight across multiple assets.
• Built long-term supplier partnerships while embedding sustainability throughout the supply chain.

Alongside technical capability, significant emphasis was placed on leadership style, stakeholder engagement and the ability to influence operational teams, development partners and executive leadership within an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment.

The Result

Following a targeted executive search, we successfully appointed an experienced hospitality procurement leader with an outstanding track record of building procurement capability across luxury hotel portfolios.

The successful candidate brought extensive expertise in strategic sourcing, supplier collaboration, contract negotiation, pre-opening procurement and procurement transformation. Having previously implemented procurement systems, developed category strategies and delivered significant cost efficiencies while maintaining exceptional product quality, they were ideally positioned to support the organisation's ambitious growth plans.

Impact

The appointment established a strategic procurement function capable of supporting both immediate hotel openings and the organisation's long-term expansion strategy.

Key outcomes included:

• Creation of a scalable procurement framework to support a growing luxury hospitality portfolio.
• Stronger supplier partnerships delivering improved service levels, commercial value and long-term collaboration.
• Enhanced procurement governance through documented policies, reporting and performance measurement.
• Improved cost control across all major areas of spend while maintaining premium quality standards.
• Successful delivery of procurement and OS&E requirements for hotel pre-opening projects.
• Increased visibility of procurement performance through reporting, analytics and KPI-driven decision making.
• Integration of sustainability considerations into sourcing strategies and supplier selection, supporting the organisation's long-term environmental and commercial objectives.