Hilton Group has announced the onboarding of top hospitality professionals for Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Embassy Manyata Business Park, Bengaluru, as the hotels prepare to scale their operations. The team has been carefully selected for its deep operational experience and history of delivering premium hospitality services to the customers to build capabilities for the dual properties.
The extended leadership and operations team includes Sonam Sharma as Cluster Director of Finance, Anubhav Lal as Cluster Director of Marketing Communications, Abhishek Roy as Director of Food and Beverage, Karishma Dutta as Director of Sales, Kunal Salooja as Director of Sales-MICE, Akanksha Katiyar as Front Office Manager, Payal Joshi as Executive Housekeeper, Vinod Nair as Director of Security and Sivan Muppedathy as Chief Engineer.
Sonam Sharma joins as Cluster Director of Finance and brings over 15 years of finance leadership and focused domain experience in end-to-end Accounting and Financial Management. She is a hands-on manager with expertise in strategic planning and execution, finance process transformation, supply chain management, compliance and controls, fund management, and stakeholder management in a diverse cultural setup. Additionally, Sonam also heads the Finance department of the sister property ‘Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks’.
Anubhav Lal, appointed as Cluster Director of Marketing and Communications, is an astute and result-oriented professional with over half a decade of experience in hospitality luxury sales and marketing. With a demonstrated ability to manage and build trusted relationships with the clients, Anubhav is also responsible for heading the marketing needs of the sister property, ‘Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks’. In his last assignment, he was with Hilton Mumbai International Airport. He has worked with Cleartrip.com and Grand Hyatt Mumbai, wherein he was actively involved in planning and executing the marketing strategies based on business objectives and overall brand narrative.
Abhishek Roy, Director of Food and Beverage, is a result-oriented versatile hospitality professional with over 17 years of experience in the food and beverage sector. With his proven ability to effectively manage operations in intensely competitive environments, Abhishek ensures high customer service standards at all times. Abhishek brings a decisive leadership style with the philosophy that team success is true success and has been recognized as the Best food and beverage Manager by FHRAI. A motivated manager, he is known amongst his colleagues for his sense of commitment; ability to innovate out of box solutions to drive operational efficiency and seamlessly connect and manage multi-functional processes. He has demonstrated expertise and success in handling a diverse range of functions, including start-ups, food and beverage Operations, Training, and Budgeting. He is a well-rounded hotelier who has built a career in different locations with iconic brands such as Accor, Leela, Taj, and the Marriott.
Karishma Dutta joins as Director of Sales. A hospitality professional who prioritizes innovation, Karishma will be responsible for sales, new business development and respective account management at the property. She is a seasoned hotel sales professional with 13+ years of work experience. She has been part of leading hospitality brands in the industry like Shangri-La Hotels, The Leela Hotels, and Marriott Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Kunal Salooja joins as Director of Sales MICE. He brings seasoned expertise as a MICE and hotel pre-opening professional with a demonstrated history in food and beverage operations, events, and sales. With close to two decades of hospitality experience, Kunal was associated with leading brands such as Accor, The Oberoi, and Hyatt.
Front Office Manager Akanksha Katiyar has over a decade of specialisation in hiring, retention, and training front office teams. Before her stint at Hilton, she served as Front Office Manager at Hyatt and has also worked with hospitality majors like St. Regis Doha and Marriott. Her peers recognize Akanksha for her sharp operational insight and commitment to the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
Payal Joshi as Executive Housekeeper. With over 16 years of hospitality experience, Payal has managed housekeeping and front office operations of leading hotel chains like Taj, ITC, Fortune Park Hotels, Royal Orchid, and Hyatt. She joined the Hilton group in 2018, with the Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks where she quickly grew to become a key leadership resource for the hotel. She later moved to the newly launched Hilton dual properties – Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Bengaluru Embassy Manyata Business Park. Her peers recognise Payal for her strong operational excellence, seasoned expertise in pre-opening and R&R asset management, and defining effect on the job training plans.
The newly appointed Chief Engineer, Sivan Muppedathy, has comprehensive knowledge and understanding of technical services, asset, and property management. At the Hilton Embassy Manyata Business Park, he focuses on implementing best practices that improve efficiency and reduces operating costs. He is also known and respected by his peers for his innovative problem-solving approach and emotional quotient, enabling him to be an effective decision maker while taking people along. Sivan is a seasoned and expert technical professional with over 26 years of experience in India and the Middle East. He has extended his support to some leading hospitality majors like JW Marriott, and Hyatt Regency, amongst others.
Vinod Nair as Director of Security, is a seasoned professional who comes with over three decades of experience in the domain of safety and loss prevention. As a former armed forces veteran, Vinod brings astute planning and detailing abilities and a strong understanding of law and safety regulations. Before his new role at Hilton Embassy Manyata Business Park, Bengaluru, he worked as an Area Manager, Safety and Security for Hilton India.
