EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

MANAGEMENT
In 1997, the Worshipful Company
of Innholders with the Savoy
Educational Trust launched
the Master Innholders
Scholarship programme to aid
the development of hotel managers.
Those who are lucky enough to be
awarded a scholarship are then invited
to join the alumni, which are known as
the St Julian Scholars. There are now
approximately 200 scholars.
One becomes a St Julian Scholar once
one graduates from the programme and
the alumni has become a leading, though
specialised, network of many great role
models. Enormous credit is due to both
the Worshipful Company of Innholders
and the Savoy Educational Trust for their
continued commitment, as well as the
Master Innholders Charitable Trust and
the Rocco Forte Foundation.
The goal of the scholarships is to grow
and open our doors far wider and attract
an increasing number to go through the
programme. The commitment to
developing the talent that sits within
our ranks is as strong as ever and the
question is: how can we open our doors
and encourage those with the talent to
go through the programme?
What does the programme offer?
The programmes are built round short
courses developed with three of the
leading management schools: Cranfield
University, Cornell University and Ecole
hôtelière de Lausanne. Once a scholar
joins the St Julian Scholars alumni, the
support does not stop there as there is a
mentoring scheme in place whereby a
scholar is paired with a Master Innholder,
who will provide guidance and advice.
As we seek to broaden our horizons,
maybe one of the drawbacks is that we
are seen as a club and there is nothing
wrong with that – but we would like to
ensure that we are inclusive and
encouraging the talent of tomorrow.
We want to give back. We want to support
the principle of continuous professional
development and we would like to
actively engage to increase our support
to those that are interested.
If I look at how it has benefited me,
it is hard to say where I would be now if
I had not received a scholarship. Without
giving away too many secrets, Cranfield
made me look at myself as a person as
well as a hotel manager, ensured that
Master
of my own
destiny
OLIVER BROWN tells EP about the St Julian
Scholarship programme, including how
it developed his own career
I understood how I was perceived and
enabled me to act and improve.
Being the son of a successful and
well-known hotel manager had its
advantages at the start of my career; it
helped to open doors for me at the Ritz,
then the Dorchester, Blooms Townhouse
(my first hotel management role) and
then the Colonnade in Maida Vale. It was
at this time in my career I realised that
I did not have a mentor to rely on for
advice and that I needed some proper
management training and the
scholarships were introduced to me.
It was the scholarships and then the
alumni that kick-started my development,
giving me the professional development
I had been lacking, but also introducing
me to a network that until then I had not
been a part of.
After a few years on the Committee
I am now the Chairman of the alumni
and I am excited to take over an alumni
that is flourishing. Networking and
continued personal development is
at the heart of what we do.
We want to build both the scholarship
and the alumni. We are all passionate
and committed to the industry and
we are working to expand our reach. •
10 | January 14 | EP