#174 - Hospitality Meets Andrew Munt - Finding your Career Home

What a story and career journey we have for you this week as I got some time with Andrew Munt, CEO of Penta Hotels.When we initially recorded this, Andrew was Chief of Operations & Commerce. A week before I was scheduled to air our original chat, Andrew let me know that he was going to be stepping up into the CEO role. As a result, we thought it was relevant to get him back for a quick round off of his story to include that wonderful news.So this week, we have two distinct parts which will become obvious as you listen.Beyond that, Andrews story is inspiring and educational all in one go. He lives with Cerebral Palsy and has rarely found this to be a barrier and there's some interesting stuff in here around the changing perceptions over his career around this.In addition, we cover:-Washing upFinding BanquetingInquisitive mindsCerebral PalsyUnnecessary rejectionFurther educationInternship in the USARelationshipsJarvisWorking through the divisionsIndustry ConnectionsBecoming a General Manager at 28The varying support structuresInitial StyleThe Devere Transition & The Devere YearsThe Penta Love affairThe Penta JourneyTwo way career buildingBecoming CEOThere's something in here for you whether you are at the beginning of your career or you have risen the ranks.Enjoy!The GuestAndrew was the COO/CCO for Pentahotels when we initially recorded this but rose to CEO early 2024. He joined Penta in 2010 when they just opened their first hotel in the UK and were looking to further develop the brand. Prior to this he did a BSc Hons degree in Hotel & Catering Management in Manchester, which included an amazing one year internship in New Mexico, a tennis resort in summer, switching to ski resort in winter. After graduating he joined Jarvis Hotels, which later became Ramada and worked his way through 4 hotels before getting his first GM position in Chichester. From there, he joined Initial Style Conferences, which were soon sold to MWB and then became De Vere Venues. He led 3 different venues over his time there, Staverton Park (which he describes as being a bit of a gamechanger for him) 60 meeting rooms, taking it open market, plus taking on a golf and leisure club. With Penta, they acquired 5 Ramada Encore Hotels in 2013 and he was promoted to lead the UK and manage the transition over 1 year. In 2017 he got the chance to relocate to Frankfurt and take on VP Ops, later COO for Penta, overseeing Europe and Asia. Earlier in 2023, Penta restructured and the role of CCO was added into his role as well and introduced a new leadership team set up below me. In early 2024, Andrew steps up into the CEO role for Penta.LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-munt-4a108821Instagram - @munt.andrewThe SponsorToday’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/philThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy