Meetings speaks to Sigal Nassimov-Geva, Chief Operating Officer of Premier Hotels & Resorts, about leadership, people development, navigating change and creating opportunities for the next generation of women in hospitality.
There is no single route to leadership. For Sigal Nassimov-Geva, the journey began not behind a hotel reception desk or in a hospitality management programme, but in business and computer system analysis. From there, her career moved into hospitality and across human resources, marketing and operations at Premier Hotels & Resorts. Each role added another perspective. Moving to South Africa and adapting to a new market brought further personal and professional growth, while working across multiple areas of the business gave Sigal a holistic understanding of what it takes to operate a hotel group successfully. Today, as Chief Operating Officer, those experiences continue to influence both how she approaches the business and how she leads the people within it.
A JOURNEY BUILT ACROSS THE BUSINESS
Your route into hospitality was not necessarily the traditional one.
How has that journey prepared you for the role you hold today?
SIGAL: “My leadership journey has been shaped by gaining experience across multiple disciplines rather than following a traditional path. I began my career in business and computer system analysis before transitioning into hospitality, where I found the perfect combination of operational complexity and working with people. “Joining Premier Hotels & Resorts gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in every aspect of the business. Having worked across human resources, marketing and operations, I developed a holistic understanding of what it takes to successfully operate a hotel group.”
Each role, Sigal says, taught her something different, from developing people and building strong teams to improving operational efficiency and enhancing the guest experience. Moving to South Africa and adapting to a new market also challenged her to grow, both personally and professionally. “Those experiences, together with the incredible teams I’ve worked alongside, have prepared me for my current role as Chief
Operating Officer.” It is a career path that illustrates the value of seeing a business from more than one perspective. In hospitality, operations, people, marketing and guest experience are closely connected.
Decisions made in one area inevitably influence another, and understanding those relationships becomes particularly valuable at executive level.
LEADERSHIP IS BIGGER THAN GENDER
As a woman in a senior executive role, Sigal is aware that her position carries significance. But she is equally clear that leadership itself should not be defined by gender.
What does being a woman in a senior leadership position within one of South Africa’s largest independently owned hotel groups mean to you?
SIGAL: “To me, it is both a privilege and a responsibility. I recognise that leadership is not about gender, but about creating an environment where people can succeed, contribute and grow. “At the same time, I understand that being a woman in a senior executive role allows me to demonstrate that leadership opportunities are achievable for anyone with the passion, capability and commitment to excel”. For Sigal, visibility can be powerful. Seeing women in senior positions can help others recognise what is possible and encourage them to pursue their own ambitions with greater confidence. “I hope my journey encourages other women to believe in their potential, pursue leadership opportunities with confidence and recognise the value they bring to their organisations. “I also believe that diverse leadership teams make better decisions because they bring different perspectives, experiences and ideas to the table, ultimately strengthening both the organisation and the guest experience.”
LET THE RESULTS SPEAK
Reaching senior leadership has not meant that every stage of the journey has been easy. There have been moments when Sigal felt she needed to work harder to establish her credibility, particularly in environments where senior leadership had traditionally been male dominated. Rather than allowing those experiences to determine how she saw her own potential, she focused on what she could control.
SIGAL: “Rather than seeing these as obstacles, I chose to view them as opportunities to grow, demonstrate my abilities and let my results speak for themselves.”
Those experiences have also influenced the type of leader she has become. “I believe in listening before making decisions, encouraging diverse opinions and creating an environment where people feel respected and empowered to contribute.” It is an approach that moves leadership away from the idea that one person needs to have every answer. “I’ve learnt that strong leadership is not about having all the answers, but about building trust, supporting your team and making balanced decisions with confidence and integrity.” That combination of confidence and collaboration runs throughout Sigal’s approach: knowing when to make the decision, but also knowing when to listen.
CREATING THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY
If representation at leadership level matters, so does what happens before someone reaches it.
Sigal believes organisations need to be intentional about creating pathways that allow talented women to progress.
What do you believe needs to happen to create more opportunities for women to move into leadership?
SIGAL: “Drawing from my own experience, I believe organisations need to invest more intentionally in developing women for leadership roles. That means creating clear career pathways, providing mentorship and
leadership development opportunities, and ensuring talented women are given opportunities to grow beyond traditional operational roles. ”For Sigal, empowerment is not simply about encouraging ambition. It requires the structures that allow people to turn potential into progress.
At Premier Hotels & Resorts, she says training and development are strongly emphasised. The group’s Academic College and internal development initiatives form part of its approach to identifying potential, supporting continuous learning and helping employees build the skills and confidence required to advance.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my role is seeing individuals grow within the organisation and achieve careers they may never have imagined possible.” It is an important distinction. Leadership development is not only about filling future executive positions. It is about creating a culture in which people can see a next step and are given the opportunity to prepare for it.
LEADERSHIP NOTES
What matters on the way up?
Sigal identifies several qualities she believes are particularly important for women aspiring to leadership in tourism and hospitality.
Adaptability
Hospitality is constantly evolving, and leaders need to be able to respond to change.
Resilience
Challenges will come. How leaders respond to them often determines what happens next.
Continuous learning
A leadership title does not mean development stops.
Empathy
Hospitality is a people-focused business, making relationships and understanding others fundamental.
Determination
Leadership is a journey, and challenges can become opportunities for growth.
CONSISTENT, NOT IDENTICAL
For a hotel group operating across different properties and destinations, leadership also involves maintaining a consistent brand promise without removing the individuality that makes each property distinctive.
How does Premier Hotels & Resorts maintain operational consistency while allowing each property to retain its own character?
SIGAL: “Operational consistency begins with having strong systems, clear standards and a shared company culture. We invest significantly in training, policies and operational procedures to ensure every property delivers the high standard of service our guests expect.”
But consistency, she explains, does not mean creating the same hotel repeatedly. “We recognise that every destination has its own personality. Rather than creating identical hotels, we encourage each property to embrace its local character, whether through its design, cuisine, guest experiences or connection with the surrounding community. “This balance allows guests to enjoy the reliability of the Premier Hotels & Resorts brand while still experiencing the uniqueness of each destination.”
It is a balance with particular relevance to the meetings and events market. Organisers need to know that service standards and operational delivery can be relied upon, while delegates increasingly value experiences that feel connected to where they are. The brand provides the confidence. The individual property provides the character.
LEADING THROUGH CHANGE
Change is a constant in hospitality. Economic pressures, technology and evolving guest expectations mean businesses need to adapt, but for Sigal, successful change management is not simply about deciding on a new direction. Teams need to understand the journey too.
How do you lead people through uncertainty and continuous change?
SIGAL: “Hospitality is an industry that requires constant adaptation. I believe the key to leading through uncertainty is maintaining open communication, empowering teams and remaining focused on continuous improvement. “I encourage collaboration and ensure our teams understand not only what is changing, but why it is changing. By involving people in finding solutions and giving them ownership, they become more engaged and resilient.”
That emphasis on the why behind change is important. When people understand the reason for a shift and have an opportunity to contribute, change becomes something they can participate in rather than something simply happening around them. Premier Hotels & Resorts also continues to invest in innovation, technology and staff development as it responds to evolving guest expectations while maintaining its service standards.
For Sigal, however, technology and innovation remain tools within a fundamentally human industry. Systems can improve efficiency. Technology can support operations. Processes can become smarter. Hospitality is still delivered by people.
PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCE
Hospitality businesses must perform commercially. They must also deliver experiences that make guests want to return. Those two priorities are sometimes positioned as though one needs to be sacrificed for the other. Sigal sees them as interconnected.
How do you balance commercial performance with exceptional guest experience?
SIGAL: “For me, commercial success and exceptional guest experiences are not competing priorities—they go hand in hand.” Strong financial performance, she explains, gives a business the ability to continue investing in its people, properties and guest experiences.
At the same time, employees who feel valued and engaged are better positioned to provide the service that supports guest loyalty and, ultimately, commercial performance.
This means looking beyond a spreadsheet when evaluating the health of the operation. “While performance metrics are essential, we must never lose sight of the people behind them—our guests, our employees and our business partners.” For Sigal, the strongest operational decisions are those that deliver sustainable business results while remaining aligned with Premier Hotels & Resorts’ values and commitment to genuine hospitality.
SUCCESS THAT MULTIPLIES
Perhaps one of the clearest indications of a leader’s influence is what happens to the people around them. For Sigal, developing others is not separate from leadership. It is part of what leadership should achieve. The impact can be seen when an employee grows into a new position, develops confidence or discovers a career path they may not previously have imagined. And that changes how success itself is measured. A business can grow. Targets can be achieved. Operational improvements can be implemented. But leadership can also multiply.
One person is developed and goes on to develop another. An opportunity creates confidence. Confidence leads to responsibility. Responsibility develops the next leader.
For an industry dependent on people, that cycle matters. It is also why Sigal’s view of leadership is grounded not only in what can be achieved today, but in what is being built for tomorrow.
A LEGACY OF OPPORTUNITY
When asked what she would like to leave for the next generation of women leaders at Premier Hotels & Resorts and across South Africa’s tourism industry, Sigal returns to the themes that have shaped her career: opportunity, development and people.
What legacy would you like to leave for the next generation of women leaders?
SIGAL: “I hope my legacy will be one of creating opportunities, developing people and leaving the organisation stronger than I found it. “Success is not measured only by business results but by the leaders you help develop and the positive impact you have on others throughout your career.” There is another message she wants future women leaders to hear. There is no single mould they need to fit. “Leadership comes in many forms, and authenticity, empathy and integrity are just as important as strategic thinking and commercial acumen. ”It is a perspective that reflects Sigal’s own journey. She did not begin with a conventional hospitality career path, nor did she build her leadership experience within one department. She learned across disciplines. She adapted to a new market. She built experience through people, systems, marketing and operations.
And she continued moving forward. “If my journey can inspire more women to believe in themselves, embrace challenges and pursue leadership with confidence, I would consider that one of my greatest achievements.”
BUILT TO LEAD
Perhaps that is what makes Sigal’s journey particularly relevant to the next generation. Leadership was not a destination waiting at the end of a predetermined path. It was built through the experiences gathered along the way. Through understanding different parts of the business. Through challenges that required adaptability. Through listening to different perspectives.
Through making decisions.
Through continuing to learn.
And, increasingly, through creating the conditions for other people to grow.
As Chief Operating Officer, Sigal’s role requires her to look at the performance of the business as a whole. But her approach to leadership suggests that the whole is always made up of people.
People serving guests.
People solving problems.
People adapting to change.
People discovering what they are capable of.
And people who may one day become the leaders sitting at the table themselves.
In an industry built around hospitality, perhaps there is no stronger form of influence than creating opportunity for the people who will shape what comes next.
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info@premierhotels.com
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