Kathleen Taylor
"Our business is about relationships – with our guests, our employees and our investment partners. All of those relationships are long term and what ultimately is the success of Four Seasons.”
For a company that is based on personalized service and carefully nurtured relationships, quadrupling in size over the past two decades would seem to be a challenge, almost counter-intuitive. Not so, says Katie, who is the top Four Seasons executive: “If anything, we have more points of contact, and thus more opportunities to create new relationships and further develop the ones we’ve had for many years. We’ve never had more places to welcome our guests, more career opportunities for our employees and more exciting prospects for our investment partners.”
Working with the owners of the hotels and resorts operated by Four Seasons, and with other investors, is a large part of Katie’s job, along with overseeing every aspect of the operations of the company around the world. What lies ahead? Expansion, with close to 50 new properties currently under development, and growth of the current portfolio of 80+ hotels and resorts. As for the brand name that has become synonymous with quality and service in a highly competitive, often volatile industry, Katie explains where it really happens: “The Four Seasons brand is what happens a thousand times a day between our guests and employees all over the world. All I do is make it possible for our men and women to do what they do best.”
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Career Highlights
- At Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: joined in 1989 as Corporate Counsel; appointed Vice President, General Counsel in 1992; promoted to Executive Vice President, Corporate Planning and Development in 1997; appointed President, Worldwide Business Operations in 1999 then President and Chief Operating Officer in 2007; appointed President and Chief Executive Officer effective August 1, 2010
- Previously: Corporate Securities and Competition Law at Goodmans LLP, including a secondment to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Education: (combined) law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, Master of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business, 1984; Bachelor’s degree in political science from University of Toronto, 1980
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Directorships
- Director of the Royal Bank of Canada, Chair of its Human Resources Committee and member of its Audit Committee
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Community Involvement
- Board member of the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, Toronto, and Chair of its Compensation and Resource Management Committee
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research and Learning Tower Capital Campaign
- Active Volunteer with Toronto United Way and Chair of Endowment Giving Committee
- United Way of Greater Toronto Kathleen Taylor and Neil Harris Family Fund (endowment)
- Harris-Taylor Reading Room at Osgoode Hall Law Library, Toronto (benefactor)
- University of Toronto Jack and Adrienne Taylor Scholarship for Undergraduate Students (benefactor)
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Awards and Honours
- Women's Executive Network Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women Award, 2011
- HOTELS magazine Corporate Hotelier of the World, 2011
- Ontario Hostelry Institute Chairman's Gold Award, 2011
- International Society of Hospitality Consultants Pioneer Award, 2011
- The Hennick Centre for Business and Law Medal for Career Achievement, 2010
- Marketing Hall of Legends Builder Award, 2009
- Forbes “25 Most Influential Women in Travel,” 2008 Canadian General Counsel Awards (CGCA)
- Award for Business Achievement, 2006
- Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (IREFAC) Chairman’s Award, 2003
- Schulich Award for Outstanding Executive Leadership, 2001
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Personal Insights
- Professional moments to remember: the acquisition of Regent Hotels & Resorts in 1992, jump-starting the entry of Four Seasons into the Asian market, and her promotion to Chief Operating Officer in 2007
- Personal characteristic that makes sense if you know her: “I consider myself an enabler more than a manager, but I’m also a bit of a control freak.”
- Alternate career: “One reason I took my law degree and MBA together is because it takes so long; if I could’ve stayed in school forever, I might have.”
- Most memorable travel experiences: cycling with her husband and friends through Morocco and Vietnam (up next: Thailand); ski vacations with her husband and three children
