President and Chief Operating Officer

“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 personalised 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.”