Communicator spotlight: Hilton's Katherine Lugar
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As executive vice president of corporate affairs for Hilton, Katherine Lugar is responsible for managing and enhancing the reputation of more than 8,400 hotels across 140 countries and territories.
Why it matters: Lugar held several CEO positions before moving over to Hilton to lead its corporate affairs team, saying that experience prepared her for managing many stakeholder groups.
What she's saying: "I have a big mantra that I say every week. It is, 'fewer, bigger, better,'" she told Axios.
- This translates to "having a strong focus on priorities and then building out the plans to get them done. We live in a noisy world. We have a lot of different things pulling at us, internally and externally."
- "And so how you focus on really distilling down the stories that you want to tell, the priorities that you want to advance, how to do them in a way that drive impact is, at the end of the day, what this role of corporate affairs is. "
Context: Lugar started her career in medical sales before making the move to Washington, where she pivoted into politics and served as a legislative aide in the U.S. House.
- From there, she held public affairs roles at the Retail Industry Leaders Association and National Retail Federation. She also worked at the American Hotel & Lodging Association, where she served as CEO.
- Before joining Hilton in 2023, Lugar was CEO of the American Beverage Association.
Zoom in: Lugar reports to Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta and oversees a global team of more than 100 who manage internal and external communications, government affairs, ESG and Foundation functions.
Between the lines: The most misunderstood thing about the role is how it connects through the entire company, says Lugar.
- "What it does is it gives you incredible visibility across the business. It allows you to make sure you've got a consistency of narrative. It ensures that we are really disciplined in how we drive our story forward, and that we're we're connecting all the dots across the business."
The intrigue: The best career advice Lugar received came from a former boss, who told her that feedback is a gift.
- "Any of us who are in these roles, we're all pretty type A, and so when you're told that you're not doing something perfectly, it stings a little bit. But being self-aware and reflective is so important for getting better and growing."
What's next: Hilton is focused on its innovation story, and telling that story across 24 brands, including the most recent additions of Graduate Hotels and NoMad.
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