Senior Management

In her role as Chief Talent Officer for Kempinski Hotels, Hoda Tahoun leads the enhancement of capabilities in executive talent strategy, recruitment, development and organisational design to ensure the entire organisation progresses toward its business goals. This will include working alongside the Executive Leadership Team to create processes that optimise recruitment, as well as build relationships for candidate pipelining, development, and succession planning, and manage short and long-term staffing requirements.

With a distinguished career spanning over 27 years in talent management and human resources, Hoda brings a wealth of expertise in shaping high-performing teams and fostering a culture of excellence. She comes to us from Russell Reynolds Associates, where she served as the Global Leader of the Leisure & Hospitality Practice. In this role, she specialised in recruiting dynamic C-suite leaders for global hospitality, travel, and leisure companies. Hoda provided advice to clients on talent management and leadership training, focusing on positions such as CEO, C-suite executives, and other high-level roles. She also offered guidance on customer-centric, go-to-market leadership positions, including Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Experience Officers.

Previously, Hoda worked for a boutique executive search firm, rising to Principal, where she collaborated with hotel management companies, cruise lines, and private equity firms. She also served as Assistant Vice President at SHUAA Capital in Dubai, leading the firm’s investment banking efforts, and held positions at American Express, Bank of America, and Citi.

Hoda holds a BS in Finance from Rutgers University and an MBA in International Business and Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.