This week we have had the pleasure of interviewing Guzmán Muela, the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid.
Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid opened its doors at the end of 2019. Tell us about that time.
As you said, the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid opened its doors in September 2019 as the first Hyatt Regency hotel in Spain, so as you can imagine, it was a very special milestone for us. Hyatt is one of the worldwide leading hotel groups, and for it to shine a spotlight on Madrid and make the old Hesperia Madrid the focal point to develop one of its most emblematic and renowned brands in the world was undoubtably a source of great pride for the Hesperia group. Before the opening, we went through an intense process involving renovation, investment and adaptation to the Hyatt Regency standards, which allowed us to come to market not only with a fully renovated hotel, but also a much higher commitment to value and quality.
Today, Hyatt Regency has three hotels in Spain, and all of them are managed and operated by the Hesperia group. A little under a year ago, we opened the Hyatt Regency Madrid Residences in Madrid, which were conceived to provide a more private and flexible setting for medium- to long-term stays. In addition, in Barcelona we have another emblematic building, the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower, which is located in a spectacular tower designed by Richard Rogers.
Tell us about your professional career and current position in the company.
I am currently the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid and the Hyatt Regency Madrid Residences, and before this I managed the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower. My career in the sector has been wide-ranging and I have been able to develop professionally in different markets. I started my professional career in the hotel sector alongside the Intercontinental Hotels Group, where I held various positions and roles in different hotels belonging to the chain, both nationally and internationally. Later, and until I joined the Hyatt team, I worked as Project Manager at T3 Hospitality Management, as Operations & Business Development Manager Retail Business at ES-KO International, and as Cluster General Manager at Time Hotels.
What sets you apart, or what aspect makes you proud of your company?
If we look at Hyatt Regency, it is a premium brand that is renowned around the world, and it has values and qualities that its clients recognize in any of its hotels. Here we are talking about spaces designed to create flawless experiences and perfect surroundings for organizing events or working in a stress-free and peaceful environment.
This stance was also important for the Hesperia group, as we understood that they were qualities that would bring value to our hotels, and that would allow us to reach a more varied international audience, with a clear focus on North American travellers. This is also one of the aspects that sets apart the Hesperia group in the sector; the "house of brands" concept. This means that we search for the best course for each hotel, and to do so we establish strategic partnerships with world-renowned brands, such as Hyatt or ALG, with whom we have an agreement to commercially exploit our resorts in the Balearic and Canary Islands under the brand AMResorts.
Why did you choose to become members of AmChamSpain?
As I mentioned before, Hyatt Group is an American company, and it is clearly an important market for us. This is why we believe that it is strategic for us to have this presence in AmChamSpain. We know about the organization, and we are aware of its great prestige and noteworthy network of members, so we are convinced that joining will be very positive. We are delighted to be working together and looking forward to discovering everything that we can bring to the table.
What would you highlight in the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid’s offer?
Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid is a five-star hotel located in one of the most emblematic areas of the capital. It sits at the heart of the Paseo de la Castellana, one of the most exclusive boulevards in the city, providing access to the major fashion stores and outstanding cultural centres, like the Prado Museum.
The hotel offers, without question, a complete premium experience in the capital, thanks to the wide variety of services and activities provided within the hotel itslef, as well as the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Madrid and its incredible array of activities to suit all interests. If I had to define the hotel’s proposal in three words, I think that sophistication, high-end and comfort would fit perfectly with the image of the Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid.
With regards to services, the hotel has 169 large, bright and modern rooms, 32 of which are suites with spectacular views of the city. Those that are penthouses have garden terraces and private jacuzzis. The hotel underwent a full renovation in 2019 for its reopening with the Hyatt Regency brand. This entailed an investment of 10 million euros in a project that transports the traveller to Madrid during the Spanish Golden Age with Las Meninas by Velázquez at the fore.
One of the biggest draws of the hotel is undoubtedly its excellent gastronomy. Here is where our stragetic partnership with the sophisticated cuisine of the Dani García Group shines, having launched in Madrid thanks to Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid. On the one hand, Leña has revolutionized the steakhouse concept by offering unique flavors, and on the other hand, Smoked Room offers a groundbreaking and completely innovative 15-dish menu. Both concepts have become benchmark culinary experiences in the city; if you visit the capital, you cannot leave without having tasted the menu. Backing the chef’s gastronomic proposal has been a resounding success. The well-deserved recognition of the two Michelin stars awarded to Smoked Room brings added value to the hotel, and the Hyatt team is very proud to have him in the kitchen.
We also have other gastronomic options at the hotel, including the emblematic La Manzana, and the Mery Bábola Bar with an appealing selection of tapas, ideal for after work drinks with colleagues after an intense workday.
This week we've had the pleasure to talk to one of our members, Elisa Tarazona, CEO of the Ribera Healthcare Group.
In Ribera Healthcare Group they work towards enhancing the health and well-being of the population with a management model which adds value to society and contributes to the sustainability of the healthcare systems.
Tell us briefly about the history of RIBERA SALUD and its mission.
Ribera is a business group that was founded in 1997, providing public and private healthcare services. Our mission is to transform the way of working and innovate healthcare management to improve the health and well-being of the population. Our healthcare model is studied as a success story in well-known international universities such as Harvard Business School and Berkeley. We have more than 6,500 professionals in the different projects in which we participate. We are present in four autonomous regions of Spain with eight hospitals, three of which are university hospitals, and more than 60 health centers in the Valencian Community and the Communities of Madrid, Galicia and Extremadura. In Europe we have a radiology and nuclear medicine company, a leader in Slovakia, and a clinic specialized in highly complex surgery in the Czech Republic. We were involved in launching the first two hospitals in Latin America with the PPP model, which are in Peru, and we also have a purchasing center, Ribera B2b, a laboratory division, Ribera Lab, and a technological affiliate, futuRS. Ribera's shareholders are the American insurance company Centene Corporation (90%) and Banco Sabadell (10%).
Tell us about your professional career and your role in RIBERA SALUD.
I have a degree in Medicine and Surgery and a PhD in Medicine from the University of Valencia and I'm a specialist in Family and Community Medicine. In addition, I trained in healthcare management at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, ESADE and IESE. I started as an attending physician at the Hospital-at-Home Unit at La Fe University Hospital and later became the Head of Primary Care in the healthcare area of La Fe. In 2003 I joined the Ribera healthcare group as Deputy Manager of La Ribera's Health Department (Alzira) and, in 2008, I took on Care Management and Organizational Management of the group and, later, Operations management and Project Integration. Since October 2020 I have been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ribera group, during an especially intense period filled with challenges, with the progressive growth of the company and the expansion and diversification of healthcare services, such as the new laboratory and radiodiagnostic units, and private medical services, with a basic objective: to continue to provide citizens with integrated care, in order to take better care of their health and well-being.
Which aspect is it that makes RIBERA SALUD stand out or of which do you feel most proud?
At Ribera Group we are, and we feel, responsible for the health of the citizens. Therefore, the population to which we attend is always our priority. We have demonstrated this once again with the management of this pandemic in our hospitals and Primary Care centers, being committed to clinical management, anticipating decision making and ensuring coordination between our centres and with local authorities. With the citizens at the heart of every decision that we make, we are committed to innovation and technology, in order to give them access to results from diagnostic tests and tele-consultations. However, we also work on launching applications that now allow us to telemonitor patients, for example those with cardiac insufficiency, or anticipate clinical decisions regarding Covid patients, thanks to a model that predicts which of these patients will end up in the ICU.
Why did you choose to become a partner of AmChamSpain?
The majority shareholder of the Ribera healthcare group is Centene Corporation (90%), one of the leading companies in the American healthcare insurance sector, included in the Fortune 50 list. Centene has more than 30 years experience collaborating with state governments in the United States and is one of the main providers for the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The United States Chamber of Commerce in Spain is another bridge which connects Ribera to our main shareholder's country and to all those companies and institutions that, like the Ribera group and Centene, want to transform and innovate with their projects and generate opportunities and employment on both sides of the ocean.
Any advice, good practice or special input from RIBERA SALUD in the face of the current global situation.
In Ribera we like to say that we work today for the healthcare of tomorrow, and that we contribute to the long-term sustainability of healthcare services with our model. We are committed to medicine based on the 5ps: personalized, population-based, participatory, predictive and preventative. Healthcare expenditure is continuing to grow at an unstoppable rate, and the pandemic has increased waiting lists, which has a great impact on health services; in addition to the consequences of the pandemic which have yet to come. In this situation, we believe it is necessary to have all of the resources, include companies and be committed to public-private collaboration, in order to manage health in a responsible way, something for which the Ribera group advocates.
This year we are pleased to welcome State of Georgia Europe Office to our Chamber and share on our blog an interview conducted with the State Commissioner Pat Wilson.
Please describe briefly the history of STATE OF GEORGIA as an organization. (history of GDEcD)
Originally called the Georgia Department of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Economic Development was established in 1949 to promote the state’s wide range of valuable assets to our domestic and international partners.
Over the past several decades, GDEcD has evolved with Georgia’s increasingly diverse and growing economy. The Department is the executive state agency for attracting new business investment from all over the world and encouraging the expansion of existing industries and small businesses.
GDEcD is also heavily involved in aligning workforce education and training with in-demand jobs, locating new markets for Georgia products, supporting the tourism industry and promoting the state as a destination for filming and television projects, and the arts. In addition, the Department is responsible for planning and mobilizing resources in the state and with local communities to further advance economic development.
Tell us about your career path and your main role in STATE OF GEORGIA.
I have been involved in government relations in Washington, D.C., and Georgia since 1997, and I’ve worked with GDEcD specifically for more than 10 years. Prior to being appointed Commissioner of the Department by former Governor Nathan Deal, I served as GDEcD’s Chief Operating Officer.
As Commissioner, I have the privilege to work with an amazing team every day, partnering with industry, government and communities to create jobs and opportunities across the state, which is pretty incredible.
Whether identifying new export markets, investing in higher education and technical college programs, or attracting a company to build their U.S. headquarters in Georgia, GDEcD is likely involved in the process, and as Commissioner I get to work with the people behind these transformative projects and decisions.
What´s the main element that you feel most proud of your organization?
Jobs change lives and enhance the quality of life of our citizens. I am most proud of the fact that the work of our team leads to job growth and opportunities for Georgians, the strengthening of our economy, and investment in education, infrastructure and our communities.
Additionally, our organization’s relationship approach to doing business makes me very proud, because it sets Georgia apart from the competition. We care about people behind the companies and organizations we work with, and we want Georgia to be a part of their long-term success.
A majority of the opportunities we’ve been able to create have been born from relationships that our state spent years developing, either from expansions of businesses that want to grow here or new businesses that have visited our state or met our people perhaps at a trade show or conference, or a delegation’s international visit, and decided they wanted to make Georgia home. Some of those most fundamental relationships are our international partnerships.
Why did you choose to join AmChamSpain?
The State of Georgia has maintained representation in Europe since 1973 – nearly 50 years! We appreciate our community of Spanish investors in Georgia. Twenty-two Spanish facilities in our state employ nearly 700 Georgians, and they play an important role as part of our communities. Our Europe office works directly with investors to build and maintain relationships that provide support for companies who decide to make an investment in Georgia. Sergio Domingues and our team there are dedicated to getting businesses the information and resources they need to make decisions and succeed in the state.
Our bilateral trade partnership is only growing, too. Georgia imports from Spain totaled $501 million in 2019, and over the past decade, exports from Georgia to Spain have nearly doubled, reaching $457 million in 2019. Last year, Georgia exports to Spain increased 4.6% over the previous year.
Additionally, AmChamSpain and GDEcD hold very similar core missions.
Both of our organizations were created to improve our respective economies and create global opportunities. By working together, leveraging opportunities and learning from one another along the way, I think we can deliver on both of our missions, especially as we look toward economic recovery from COVID-19 as an international community.
Which do you consider to be the most important strengths of STATE OF GEORGIA facing the new normality?
The diversity of the state’s economy, in addition to our state’s relationship approach to doing business, has kept the State of Georgia well-positioned for recovery, despite the pervasive impacts caused by COVID-19. During the month of August alone, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) helped generate more than $642 million in new investments and create 4,036 jobs for every skill level and in nearly every corner of the state. Despite COVID-19, job creation is 1.5 times higher than the same two months last year.
These jobs haven’t been isolated to a single industry either. From food production and advanced manufacturing to brand-new tech hubs, the wide range of jobs and projects the state attracted during the month of August are emblematic of the fundamental strength of Georgia’s diverse economy. We look forward to continuing to work with our private and public sector partners so we can keep the momentum going.
For more information, please contact Sérgio Domingues, Managing Director of the State of Georgia Europe Office at sdomingues@georgia.org
