Award-winning, independent hospitality company, Premier Hotels & Resorts, has recently appointed Mrs Sigal Geva as its Chief Operating Officer. On her appointment, Geva says: “It’s incredible to be announced as a COO in a very male-dominated industry.”
In her new role, Geva will be drawing on her 12 years of experience in the hospitality industry, during which she has been involved in overseeing the daily operations of the Premier Hotels & Resorts Group’s Marketing and Human Resource departments, and played a key role in strategy development. She has enjoyed learning from these various departments. As COO she will be coordinating all of the executive functions across the hotel chain.
Highlights of her career have included growing and developing the company’s permanent staff compliment despite tough economic times, structuring the employment equity and skills development plans of all properties within the Group’s portfolio and implementing Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment verification. She has also helped to transform the organisation through implementing changes and improvements to the way the business performs. As a result, Geva won the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa’s Regional Business Achievers Award in the Corporate category.
In addition to her position within the Group, she is the Managing Director of the Academic College of South Africa. Managed by Premier Hotels and Resorts, the College offers training in the hospitality industry as well as employment to students who have achieved their certificate or diploma. Here she has been instrumental in driving the process of accreditation with the Culture Art Tourism Hospitality and Sports Sector Education and Training Authority. Furthermore, with her values and belief in uplifting her community, bursaries, study grants and learnerships have been awarded to previously disadvantaged individuals to not only assist in their personal transformation but to also help eliminate unemployment and poverty of the Eastern Cape.
Geva says, “Being a dedicated businesswoman with a vast portfolio does not come without sacrifice and as a mother of three children there are occasions where I have to sacrifice time with my family for the benefit of the business.” She hopes that through her commitment to her career she will be able to leave a legacy for her kids.
She advises other women seeking similar business success to believe in themselves and be unafraid to speak up. She is inspired by other women in business and hopes to serve as an inspiration to others.
Geva lives by the motto: Balance business, make a difference and leave a legacy.
