2. About Us
Like castell builders, athletes who
collaborate to create human towers,
Castell Project, Inc. uses
collaboration and training to raise
the diverse members of our cohorts
to new career heights.
Castell Project, Inc. recognizes that
diversity in corporate leadership
strengthens the company and
enhances profitability.
Castell Project, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-
profit.
Castell: A human tower
3. Castell Project Board of Directors
Board of Directors
• Peggy Berg pberg@castellproject.org, President, Analiza, LLC
• Mary Beth Cutshall, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Business
Development, HVMG
• Chris Daly, President, Daly-Gray Public Relations
• Karen Johnson MAI, CRE, ISHC President, Pinnacle Advisory Group West
• Eve Moore, Vice President of Operations, Hotels Legacy Property Group
4. Most hotel companies lack internal capacity
to develop women executives effectively
Although women have made progress in business, representation is still
weak at higher levels. Positive action is needed to accelerate development of
this valuable resource for the hospitality industry.
• 65% of graduates from college hospitality programs are women. Our talent
pipeline is strong.
• US Department of Labor reports that 59% of hospitality industry
employees are women. Women are committed and delivering.
• Rockefeller Foundation found that 76% of women say the presence of
women in leadership positions at least somewhat important to them in
choosing where to work. Women leaders are important to recruiting and
retention.
• Reuters profiled 21,980 firms in 91 countries and found that a profitable
firm at which 30%+ of leaders are women could boost profitability 15%.
5. Castell Leadership Program
We believe that directed personnel development can accelerate the advancement
of women in hospitality leadership. To be effective, leadership development has to
be an on-going process incorporating specific skills training over time, advocacy,
and a support network. The Castell Program is designed for rising women
executives at the point where competition for next level positions intensifies.
• Corporate executives in hospitality ready to move up
• General managers ready for the corporate level
• Managers preparing for larger and higher value hotels
• Women in hotel brokerage or finance targeting a higher profile more lucrative role
• Consultants preparing for partnership or their own operation
The Castell Program prepares women to win the move up.
6. Castell Leadership Program – An impactful year
Career
Planning
Training with
Interactive Practice Network
Commitment with
Reinforcement
Every Castell Leadership
Program participant is guided
through construction of an
individual career plan with
specific goals and
commitments by specialists
from Aubergine Partners.
Plans incorporate results of
Profiles International
Checkpoint 360 leadership
assessment tool.
Castell Program Workshop is a
3-day intensive practicum
with Oak Bay Consulting
building skills in
communication and
negotiation tailored for the
specific strengths and
challenges of women
hospitality industry
executives.
Bi-monthly on-line webinars
reinforce Workshop content
and deliver skills-training
specific to corporate
communication for women.
The program develops
executives who are highly
effective at managing people,
and at negotiation.
WILL – Women In Lodging
Network – makes Castell
Program particularly valuable
for executive women in
hospitality and their
employers. This feature of
the Castell Program develops
a network of women in the
hospitality industry. Each
member has access to on-line
resources and the opportunity
to participate in networking
events. Relationships among
high-potential women who
are building careers in the
hospitality industry are
fostered through WILL.
Castell Program supports
these women executives as
they execute their career
plans.
Certified executive coaches
under the direction of
Aubergine Partners work with
each executive as she
executes her career plan.
Five-WILL teams, cohorts of
these executive women in
hospitality move through the
program together, hold each
other accountable and form a
resource network with
regularly scheduled calls. They
support each other in
overcoming hurdles and
tracking progress.
7. Faculty
Emily Epstein, JD
Emily delivers skills in negotiation and communication, teaching women to handle the unique
obstacles they face at the negotiating table and in corporate interactions. Her training uses
programs developed for Fortune 500 companies, public sector negotiators, law firms, and
others, bringing a skill set that is not typically found in the hospitality industry. Emily has taught
at Harvard, Georgetown and Berkeley.
Siobhan O’Leary, Accredited Coach
Siobhan delivers coaching that carries key skills into each woman’s day-to-day performance and
helps each woman carry out the career goals in her career plan. Siobhan is a certified executive
coach by the International Coach Federation and the Institute for Professional Excellence in
Coaching. Her background includes Hyatt, Four Seasons, The Carlyle and Rosewood Hotels and
Resorts.
8. WILL : Women in Lodging Leadership
Graduates of the Workshop are invited to join Women In Lodging Leadership
(WILL), women with common training and purpose who support each other’s
career development going forward.
WILL builds relationships through web-based meetings, calls, gatherings at
industry events, and personal interaction. WILL members are a resource for
each other and strengthen each woman’s resolve to succeed.
WILL members are expected to “pay it forward” and become Champions for
other women executives.
9. Champions
Each participant in a Castell Leadership program is nominated by a
champion. Champions identify executive women with potential in their
company, recommend them for the Castell Program, and fund their
participation. Champions receive progress reports and metrics from Castell.
Champions are crucial to the Castell Leadership Program, and to the women
they sponsor.
10. Castell Research: Research Partner Georgia State University
• The Survey on Hospitality Women’s Professional
Advancement is Castell’s current study of
women’s perceptions of their careers.
• Evidence of progress for women executives is in
their representation on high profile podiums.
Castell’s Conference Scorecard tracks
representation of women – and challenges
conferences to improve diversity.
• Castell Leadership Program includes a
longitudinal study of the performance of program
participants as they pursue their careers. These
metrics will inform the programming and
initiatives used by Castell to further the careers of
women executives in the hospitality industry.
