In some ways, Brian Hicks stepped into the president and CEO role of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International in uniquely difficult circumstances — stepping in to fill the shoes of a long-time, beloved leader who recently passed away.
In others, it could be described as ideal circumstances, with what he describes as a strong team in place at a financially sound and established hotel industry institution.
But either way, Hicks sees his job as continuing to grow and fortify the outlook for HSMAI, particularly on the global stage.
"The association is in a fantastic place, and the mission is not going to change," he said.
HSMAI is a membership organization with sales, marketing and revenue management professionals from all corners of the hospitality and tourism industry. The organization promotes thought leadership in identifying and communicating trends in those three disciplines as well as connecting members with potential customers. Today, HSMAI has grown to nearly 5,000 members from 35 countries around the world.
Hicks' early days at HSMAI have mostly revolved around taking stock of the state of the organization and checking in with major stakeholders, which included "open and honest conversations about what we'd need to change or if anything needs to be modified."
"The answer is no. Our purpose is still fueling sales, driving marketing, optimizing revenue really bringing the talent along — whether that's new talent coming in, developing existing talent and leveraging the amazing alumni that have been through the organization," he said.
Hicks started as the new president and CEO of HSMAI in late October, a month after the passing of previous president and CEO Bob Gilbert. Gilbert had held the role for more than 30 years.
Hicks said his experience with the organization, particularly on revenue management advisory boards, helped ease the transition. He regularly worked with HSMAI when he was an executive at IHG Hotels & Resorts, climbing to the role of senior vice president of the Americas for commercial and revenue management before departing and along the way serving on the inaugural revenue management advisory board for HSMAI's European chapter.
"Then two or three years later when I came to the U.S., Bob called me up almost immediately to say 'We're going to transfer your membership over because we really want you to stay involved here in the Americas,'" he said. "And I did. The last two or three years, I've sat on the board, so all the players are familiar, which is great."
Hicks' top goal is growing the organization's international footprint. There are currently chapters scattered across the globe, but none have reached the scope of U.S.-based operations.
"I lived in London for seven years and oversaw Europe, Asia, the Middle East, pretty much everything outside maybe Greater China ... But I understand the challenges associated with trying to work with a global organization while staying regionally relevant," Hicks said. "I think that's one area you'll see in the next couple of years where my focus might be a little bit more than Bob's was — to create that global umbrella and that keeps things regionalized as they need to be."
Currently, HSMAI outside of the Americas is most well established across Europe, with relatively smaller operations in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, which Hicks hopes to grow as the hospitality industries in those global regions have changed significantly.
"It'll be interesting to see over the next few years, just given the amount of investment and development in those areas, how quickly we can grow those," he said.
In addition to that, Hicks hopes to leave his mark on HSMAI by helping to bring along young leaders in revenue, sales and marketing across the industry, which he views as the organization's most important work. He said fundraising for the HSMAI Foundation will focus on that and honoring "Bob and his contributions to the industry."
"The HSMAI Foundation is set up for funding research, scholarships and developing program that really help strengthen the industry," he said.
In the end, Hicks believes his organization "needs to do a better job promoting" that side of their mission and bringing along young people.
"I was 16 years old when I knew I wanted to go into the travel business and it was hotels for me," he said. "I never looked back. I've never done anything else. And I know there's a next generation of kids that want to do the same. They just need to know that there are pathways to success."
Hicks added he doesn't expect to have as long of a tenure at the helm as Gilbert did, and he needs to plan accordingly for that.
"I don't think it's a secret I'm not going to be in this role for 30 years," he said.
Leadership and succession planning are a large focus for him, Hicks said.
"It's really having a good succession plan for the organization, and setting it up in a way that you can pass the torch in a way where somebody can step in and really feel like 'OK, I know where everything is. I can find everything and move on to the next phase of the organization,'" he said.
Taking over for a leader like Gilbert is not an easy task, but Hicks said he received "such a warm welcome from the team" at HSMAI and various industry experts active in the organization.
"One of the things I'm going to need to do is really try to prove myself and try to build on those relationships and ensure that the people that have been amazing supporters over the years see that the organization is still going to continue the legacy that Bob has put in place," he said. "I'm confident we can do that. I really am. I think the people associated with HSMAI is what makes it great.
"I think Bob's legacy is going to live on through a lot of people because Bob touched a lot of people. He was the one who single-handledly at some point in many people's careers helped them get to that next step. [People] don't forget that, and then they see HSMAI as a way to kind of give back and help and hopefully take somebody else along on that same journey. So I think having that spirit of wanting to help people grow with professional development, mentorship, training and development — that's going to live on for a long time. It's just the DNA."