Company: Hilton International, Watford, England

Company Division/Group: The Campaign Works

Company Description: Hilton is one of the world's leading brands. Hilton International manages the Hilton brand outside of the USA. It has 84,500 employees in 77 countries and operates 500 hotels.

Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories

Nomination Sub Category: Best Marketing Executive

Nomination Title: Mike Ashton, Senior Vice President, Hilton International

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Mike Ashton has been Hilton's Senior Vice President of Marketing for 5 years.  His most important challenge has been to develop a long term vision for the Hilton brand; to turn this vision into a guest experience that gives Hilton a real competitive edge; and to ensure the experience is delivered consistently in 270 hotels and 65 countries, by 75,000 team members, 365 days a year. 

A project of this magnitude demanded a radical approach. Mike's starting point was therefore a total reappraisal of Hilton's operating standards in relation to changing consumer needs; an independent analysis of Hilton's brand positioning; a re-examination of the company's investment; and, hardest of all, an assessment of the organisation's ability to embrace change and innovate.     

Throughout the project, Mike's principal challenges have remained the same:

o          Persuading senior colleagues to support and deliver the vision

o          Helping 75,000 people to turn a shared vision into a brand reality for guests

o          Winning investment and demonstrating commercial return

o          Taking marketing out of the office and into the heart of the guest experience

Together with his senior team, Mike set up and worked with global brand groups, staff advisory boards, product innovation teams and supplier forums to involve the organisation in challenging industry-wide practices that had inhibited innovation and change.

Their work has produced an ambitious programme of global initiatives, bringing to life Hilton's vision of a Consistent, Hassle-Free and Personalised hotel stay. In the

last 12 months alone, that has meant:

o          Redefining and introducing globally consistent brand service standards

o          Introducing globally consistent measurement of brand performance, including a

Balanced Scorecard approach

o          Communicating and sharing the brand vision through 'Next Step in the Journey', a

global programme of presentations and workshops for all 75,000 Hilton team members

o          Giving e-based learning opportunities to all team members through Hilton University

o          Launching the revolutionary three-zone Hilton Relaxation Rooms

o          Taking Hilton into F1 sponsorship with Team McLaren Mercedes - an industry 1st 

o          Developing Hilton's successful Worldwide Resorts brand  

And as momentum has grown measurable results have followed: 

o          Sustained increases in global guest satisfaction and guest retention 

o          An independent audit by JD Power placed Hilton No 1 for Quality in Europe

o          Significant increases in Team Member satisfaction (annual global staff survey)

o          Profit growth directly attributable to new products including Hilton Worldwide

Resorts

o          Independent annual research by BDRC Ltd placed the Hilton brand No 1 in UK,

Europe, Middle East and Asia (based on awareness, preference, usage and loyalty)

o          2004 - National Business Award winner for Marketing Strategy of the Year

o          2005 - National Business Award winner for Customer Focus

"Since joining Hilton International I've been hugely impressed by Mike's ability to share his passion and encourage our teams worldwide to deliver the new direction for the brand. He revels in his crusade to introduce a fresh, contemporary face of Hilton to a new generation of international travellers."
Ian Carter, Chief Executive, Hilton International.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, http://www.youraddress.com:

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

Mike joined Hilton International in 1999 as VP marketing in the UK. In 2000, he joined the board as Senior Vice President, Marketing.

Mike started his career in sales with Proctor & Gamble and then joined Johnson & Johnson as Head of European Marketing for their Scottish food division.

In 1994 Mike became Head of Marketing for ScotRail before joining UK hotels and leisure group Stakis as Group Marketing Director.  He moved to Hilton 2 years later.

Mike is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, has a business degree and an MBA.  He is a frequent speaker at conferences throughout Europe.