With three decades in the hospitality industry in 11 hotels (still counting), across four continents, Michael Pinder has proven himself as an astute hospitality professional.
Starting out his career in 1994 at St. Pierre Hotel as food and beverage manager, the London-born Pinder grew from the ranks to become sought-after in the global hospitality business.
From hotel business management, hospitality consultancy, project management and operations, training and staff development, Pinder has left legacies that today serve as a model to copy and also challenge for young hoteliers to become more ambitious.
Although he has a PhD in Human Resources Management with a litany of academic qualifications, Pinder believes in experience hence he always posits that, “It is experience not qualifications that makes a successful hotelier.”
With his wealth of experience, Pinder has become a specialist in turning over underperforming hotels to successful brands, an expertise that has won him many clients in Nigeria. Graciously, Pinder is the general manager of Ogeyi Place Hotel, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, a hotel he has rescued from going moribund years back.
Such rescues seem to be his specialty.
Before joining Ogeyi Place Hotel, he consulted for the then Protea Hotels, Kuramo Waters, in Victoria Island, and in 2010, he moved to become the consultant and general manager, Best Western Premier Hotel Lagos.
As well, Pinder was previously a member of the senior management team of Slok Group, with key accountability for the performance of Sun Heaven Hotels and Resort, including group finance function, operations managers, and 160 employees spanning five hotels of the group.
While at the Sun Heaven Hotels, he increased occupancy levels at the Lekki outlet from 30 to 92 percent and Victoria Island hotel from 40 to 70 percent occupancy despite the economic reality of that time.
His high achiever mentality coupled with strong leadership qualities and proven expertise in implementing tactical strategies to achieve hotel efficiency, growth and brand awareness in competitive markets, have combined to make him sought-after by hotel owners, international brands and hospitality firms.
Again, he has an edge over his peers with expertise in areas such as hotel management, business plan development, process improvement, project management, supply chain/service delivery, revenue growth, gross profit improvement, cost reduction and people management.
One unique thing about Pinder is his incredible passion for the hospitality industry. He always recalls with nostalgia how in 1995, he took a short break from the hospitality business, went into academia and between 1995 and 2003, he lectured in Australia.
But the passion for hospitality drove him back to his first love-hotel business.
Returning to his calling and passion, he rose quickly in hotel management, becoming the general manager of Stansted Hotel, a 70-room hotel, and a year later, he joined Peacock Hotel, following the huge turnaround of his previous hotel. He maintained the rise and moved from Peacock Hotel to Crescent Beach Hotel as general manager, a 4-star hotel in Azerbaijan and from there he moved to Nigeria and Africa for the first time as consultant to Protea Hotels, Kuramo Waters, Victoria Island, Lagos and later general manager of many hotels.
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Apart from managing hotels, Pinder, who is married with seven children and two grandchildren, is a sought-after key speaker for a number of hospitality seminars in and outside Nigeria.
He is also a recipient of the Icon of Hospitality Nigeria Award; a lifetime legacy award and the highest award to be conferred on any individual by the Hotel Managers Conference and Awards Nigeria.
According to the board and award committee of the Hotel Managers Conference and Awards, the award was conferred on Pinder based on his outstanding hotel management records over the years through his tireless efforts in the Nigerian hospitality space, sustaining international standards, maintaining excellence in hotels he managed and projects he has executed.
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