Young HR Employee scoops top hospitality award

Initiative, professionalism and a personable style have led to five promotions for human resources manager Kathy Wilton since she joined Thistle Hotels just over four years ago.

Kathyís skills have been recognised by a top industry accolade. The Acorn awards recognise the outstanding achievements of industry professionals under the age of 30 ñ those who go above and beyond the call of duty in their everyday roles.

These prestigious awards are credited with finding the future leaders of the hospitality industry and have in the past identified such key players as Marco Pierre White, Gary Rhodes and Michael Caines.

Thistle HR director Rachelle Prior, who nominated Kathy for the Acorn, said: ìEverything that Kathy delivers is well within the timescales given and to the highest standard.

ìShe has used her initiative to champion new projects that have led to transformational changes across the entire business, at all times operating as a professional, and with integrity and trust.

ìShe can always be relied upon to deliver results and is an asset to this organisation and the management teams within it.î

Kathy, who lives in Surbiton, is one of only two people from the company to receive the award this year.

The 29-year-old graduate of the University of Surrey and former pupil of Sheldon Secondary School in Chippenham, began her career with Thistle at Kensington Gardens and Thistle Hyde Park, where she was HR manager.

She moved through the ranks until 2004 when she became HR shared services manager and a key member of the project management team responsible for designing and introducing a new payroll system.

In September 2005 she moved to The Cumberland and Thistle Marble Arch as HR Manager with a range of additional responsibilities including advising senior management on immigration, tax and national insurance.

Kathy is now corporate HR manager at Thistle HQ in West Drayton, providing direct HR support for 150 employees and developing the company-wide recruitment strategy by forming partnerships with hospitality training centres worldwide.

She gained a Masters in Human Resource Management from Thames Valley University in 2005.