LEADER - PART 2 INTERVIEW WITH OLIVIER CHAVY, CEO OF THE LUX COLLECTIVE: "TO ATTRACT THE YOUNGER GENERATION, MY METHOD IS TO GATHER THEM AROUND THE TABLE"
In this second part of our interview with Olivier Chavy, the CEO shares with us his initiatives to attract, inspire and support the younger generation, while at the same time rewarding the most experienced and deserving members of his team. |
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LEADER - PART 2 INTERVIEW WITH OLIVIER CHAVY, CEO OF THE LUX COLLECTIVE: "TO ATTRACT THE YOUNGER GENERATION, MY METHOD IS TO GATHER THEM AROUND THE TABLE"
In this second part of our interview with Olivier Chavy, the CEO shares with us his initiatives to attract, inspire and support the younger generation, while at the same time rewarding the most experienced and deserving members of his team. |
Category: Worldwide - Interviews and portraits
- Interviews
Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2025-01-24
 At the helm of The Lux Collective, Olivier Chavy combines serious ambition for the group with a natural laid-back attitude and a close relationship with his teams in the field - Photo credit: The Lux Collective
Photo credit © The Lux Collective
“The best ideas don't always come from the top", he confides to Journal des Palaces, underlining his conviction that listening to employees on the ground is essential to innovate and anticipate the expectations of new generations. His career has been marked by inspiring initiatives, such as the creation of an in-house academy and the modernization of an executive committee, evident of his commitment to “taking care of those who take care of customers”.
With a unique ability to unite and inspire collective energy, Olivier Chavy embodies a resolutely forward-looking vision of leadership. In this second part of our interview, he invites us to explore his humanist approach, rooted in strong values and a profound respect for human capital, and reveals in detail how he applies a sustainability approach that is both virtuous for the environment and, above all, committed to his teams.
Journal des Palaces: When you were appointed CEO of TLC, you immediately turned your attention to TLC's talent. Could you elaborate on your objective?
Olivier Chavy: When I arrived, I immediately and spontaneously started thinking about existing employees and the talent we needed to attract. I started by identifying the right talents to develop, retain or attract. We're in a business where soft skills, the human element, play a more important role than technical skills today.
The intangible part of hospitality is the most difficult in terms of consistency. A well-built, well-designed property will offer a consistent experience throughout the stay. However, the service, the smile, the intangible – these are more complex. Before deciding on a project, we make sure we can find the skills, behaviour and DNA of the people who will provide this intangible aspect.
Kindness doesn't appear in job descriptions, yet being kind is a must-have alongside professional skills. It's the hardest combination to find at every moment, for every guest, everywhere during the stay. We're blessed in Mauritius because Mauritians are naturally very warm, very kind, extremely welcoming and have been brought up on an island where there is only room for brotherhood. This creates a very welcoming and peaceful atmosphere that most of our customers seek when they come to Mauritius.
When you're able to focus on people's naturally hospitable streak, coupled with working very hard on skills and skills consistency, you get a rare and amazing experience. By creating this culture, you also gain a considerable competitive advantage that no one else can copy!
I'm extremely proud, for example, of Sheila Malloo, whom we've just appointed as General Manager of LUX* Belle Mare, the Group’s first woman General Manager in Mauritius to take over the reins of a luxury 5-star hotel. She's been in the job for 22 years, has seen five expatriate managers come and go in recent years, and is going to bring us something extraordinary to this hotel: the Mauritian touch, the personal touch. She knows all the staff and even their children's first names. Her example is representative of our dynamic: we identify talent, mentor it and guide it to success. We want to duplicate this model at all levels of the company.
We're in the business of bringing emotion to the next generation. We need to help existing employees grow, and we need to attract new talent. This requires emotion, innovation and finesse in things that were less sensitive 10 years ago.
What were your first decisions in this area?
When I visit hotels, I always ask to eat in the staff restaurant, without prior notice, and I have lunch there with the frontline teams, to experience what they experience on a daily basis. My first decision was to renovate all these restaurants, and to make sure that all the managers of our properties understand the importance of this approach, because work must offer colleagues more comfortable living conditions than at home.
We inaugurated the new self-service restaurant at LUX* Grand Gaube. Though it's our staff restaurant, but I can tell you that it's also one of the best restaurants in Mauritius. It's all about taking care of our employees, who in turn take care of our customers, especially for the new generation, that's extremely important.
Innovation doesn't just mean higher wages. Employees don't look 10 years ahead, but generally more short-term in our business.
How do you plan to make The Lux Collective more attractive and sustainable for young professionals?
We have since established our very own The Lux Collective (TLC) Training Academy, a national certified training institution in Mauritius. We have recently celebrated the successful graduation of our first cohort of TLC Apprenticeship Programme across our resorts in Mauritius. 20 young talents have completed their National Certificate Level 3 in Restaurant & Bar Service after a one-year intensive training.
At the graduation ceremony, team members’ families were specially invited as they received their certificates in the presence of Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development Council’s esteemed representatives and the senior management team. Three outstanding team members achieved distinctions.
This industry-led initiative is a part of the Group’s ongoing commitment and strong emphasis to invest in talent development and build personal career progression for our people, while ensuring continual highest standards of service and experiences for our guests.
The Group also announced that another new cohort had enrolled in the accredited Food & Beverage course which started in mid-September 2024.
Younger generations need to be supported in their development, but they also need to be listened to when making decisions. In my previous role, my executive committee was made up of nine people aged 55 and over. I took the decision to double the ExCom and recruit nine millennials under 30, five from within the company, four from outside. They were present and actively participated in the seven annual meetings with the same level of information. In two and a half years, they influenced seven of the ten most important decisions, and drastically changed three of them.
To attract the younger generation, my method is to gather them around the table. In fact, I've started to take an interest in younger people, because they're the ones who are going to elevate our brand promises in all our destinations.
Have you applied this strategy at LUX*?
Not yet. However, since I arrived, my first meal was with the number two of each establishment. It was during this meal that I appointed Sheila as General Manager, and there will be others. I also made a commitment during this meeting to make them future GMs, because I strongly believe in local talents in all the destinations where we currently operate, and in those where we will establish ourselves in the months and years to come.
In just two and a half hours with these professionals, I learned an enormous amount. I asked them: what would you do differently? They spend 40% of their time in the field with customers, 40% with employees and 20% on administration. So, their ideas are realistic and relevant. The best ideas don't always come from the top.
This focus on people is part of a broader commitment to CSR. How important is sustainability in your strategy for The Lux Collective?
Sustainable practices play a pivotal part in our strategy for The Lux Collective.
At the Corporate level, through our signature Groupwide sustainability project Tread Lightly, The Lux Collective promises an eco-conscious stay throughout the hotels. We focus on carbon footprint reduction and biodiversity protection. With guests’ voluntary contribution of one euro per room night for this initiative, Tread Lightly has raised over one million euros in funding and supported ten keynote Carbon Offset Projects in Africa and Asia.
We are also partnering with Positive Luxury which is the leading sustainability expert for the global luxury industry. Its proprietary Butterfly Methodology comprises an ESG+ assessment, risk and opportunity online mapping, transition strategy and annual verification. Our resorts are on track to receive the Butterfly Mark, the luxury industry’s leading sustainability certification.
What form does this sustainability commitment take at your resorts?
Besides energy and water efficiency and circular design, The Lux Collective undertakes future-oriented environmental protection initiatives at Group level, in tandem with all our resorts, to create an impact. In particular, we are the first luxury hospitality group from Mauritius to partner with the NGO Eco-Sud, to establish a conservation plan to protect fragile marine ecosystems. The partnership was signed on 8 June 2023.
As a Group at the resorts’ level, we have also implemented many successful projects as proof-points of our shared commitment to invest and drive sustainability forward - for the planet and people:
- LUX* South Ari Atoll owns an on-site marine biology centre with resident marine biologists who engage guests via eco-tours and coral adoption programmes; their research contributions have been recognised by the Maldivian Government.
- LUX* South Ari Atoll also has one of the world’s largest floating solar panel systems at sea, powering more than 30% of total resort’s energy needs. Phase 2 will extend solar panels and incorporate battery storage, to inject another 25% of clean energy. This forward-thinking resort organises dialogue with the government, with the objective to help the Maldives become a pioneer of hydrogen-economy.
Across the Group, our chefs took up the challenge to rethink thoughtful sourcing to make food a force for good. All our restaurants across the Group serve creative and delectable plant-based, vegan, vegetarian, and raw dishes:
- LUX* Belle Mare resort reopened in October 2023 with its own farm, supplying fresh pesticide-free vegetables and herbs to its restaurants;
- Our resorts in Mauritius embraced the PLEDGE™ on Food Waste Certification. LUX* Le Morne particularly achieved the Best National All-Star score and Worldwide Hospitality On Awards Best Sustainable Development Initiative for managing food waste. Its best practice is shared with the Group and beyond. Buffet food, which is tasty and untouched, is regularly donated to nearby schools. This helped the Mauritian community with redistribution of food to needy school children - thereby contributing to the higher school attendance and education of children.
We have also adopted a groupwide responsible beauty approach. All bathroom amenities in the rooms and villas, spa treatments and skincare products are not tested on animals and made of natural ingredients. In addition, our luxurious LUX* ME Spa collection offers a spa experience with efficacy – curated using sustainability-sourced and organic ingredients.
What advice would you give to a young person looking for a career in luxury hospitality?
For young persons who wish to succeed in luxury hospitality, firstly you must have a dream. Set a dream career goal and do not anyone stop you from achieving the dream. Step by step, once you reach your dream, set up another new dream to grow.
Next, you need to have a deep passion for people. In this business, we work extremely hard with long demanding hours and over weekends, even when our friends and loved one are on vacations. However, we learn about cultural differences as we meet different interesting people from all walks of life - which in itself is part of the reward.
On building the career, I very often have the same answer because I am often asked this question. You have to spend 100% excelling in your job description, 15% networking and importantly, 15% benchmarking at every opportunity. Put in dedicated hard work to learn, observe, benchmark and network. This will actually add up to 130% of your time and efforts.
More seriously, I would advise you - keep your goal, keep your dream. It's amazing how far you can go when you dream. Because you will do a job of passion.
It’s a cycle of life. Eventually, one day as a leader, you will want to share, teach and to mentor others to greater success. It is an awesome and most rewarding experience. I believe strongly in all this, and at this stage of my career, my real joy and what gives me the most pleasure is to accompany and empower those who want to succeed in growing professionally and also on a personal level while keeping the right balance in their lives.
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