Glenn Huskie has been all over the world holding various key positions for international hospitality brands, the latest no less than Global SVP for Accor Luxury Brands Design and Technical Services. Always looking for ways to bring value, he joins Wood Couture founders Paolo Della Casa and Filippo Sona in the pursuit of shaking the hospitality-manufacturing industry.
1. We often assume that a successful company is a sign of effective leadership. What is your leadership style?
My leadership style follows 3Hs – Humility, Honesty and Hard Work. I believe in leading towards achieving a goal and, it’s about teamwork and people. The ethos I’ve carried throughout my career is that my team is family. I make sure I have the right people, I look after them and put them first. Give people responsibility, trust, and empowerment to enable them to do their job. Give them the tools, the time and push them – throw people into the deep end, they WILL swim! It’s a saying often used, and it’s true. I believe in sharing knowledge and insight, and building people up to deliver because skills and industry know-how can be learned. As long as we work hard, remain humble and honest, anything is possible.
2. How do you think about value for your clients?
There are different ways to look at value, and different stakeholders will have different metrics for it. For us, there are 3 stakeholders for whom we bring value: (1) We deliver quality at the right price to help meet owner-investor budgets; (2) We protect interior designer’s vision and design integrity; (3) We make sure that the items we deliver meet the hotel operator’s brand & aligns to industry requirements. We can also say that there is a fourth stakeholder, possibly the ultimate stakeholder, which is the guest for whom we contribute to their experiences.
3. How can one drive innovation in this age of technology?
Technology moves so rapidly that we are increasingly more able to acquire information & materials faster, smarter, and more efficiently for our businesses and planet. At Wood Couture, we leverage what technology offers to create efficiencies and bring value to our clients and partners. For example, our bespoke 3D modeling software is customized to decrease resources dedicated to prototyping. We also simulate stress tests to ensure that items we create are able handle the wear for its intended use. We’re always coming up with more ways to save time, cost and deliver products that are usable, reliable and don’t severely impact our planet.
4. Describe Wood Couture in one word
Excellence. We provide great attention to detail throughout the process from designing, production and through to delivery. Our value proposition for total quality is hinged on a mantra of excellence. We are a 21st Century supplier, here to shake up the industry but maintaining the traditional qualities of trust & respect in our relations with all stakeholders in the process.
With Glenn on board, Wood Couture strengthens its capabilities to deliver value taking a 360-degree approach to all projects & their stakeholders.
- Interior Designers, ensuring design integrity
- Hotel Operators, upholding hotel industry brand standards
- Investors, protecting investments & timetables.
