Interview with Mark Saint-Julien (IMHI 2014), Founder of Mindset Legacy.

AAIMHI: What do you remember from your time at IMHI?

Mark: I have always wanted to join an institution that would help me reach my goals and thus I really appreciated the high level of expectations IMHI had on all students. I remember the high-quality professors from all around the world that gave me personally a broad perspective and the challenging business games that would challenge my limits.

The possibility to integrate the apprenticeship system in such a school is very rare at this level and I truly appreciated the opportunity to work part time at Accor on their real-life strategic cases, while studying at IMHI.

AAIMHI: What did you do right after graduating, can you share a bit about your career?

Mark: After IMHI, I really hesitated between continuing my career in hotel development, considering the fact that I did my apprenticeship in this domain, or exploring the operational path to try to become a general Manager. I ended up choosing operations as I wanted to gain credibility, more maturity, and a better understanding of what it meant to be a manager. My first position was the Director of Food & Beverage of a MGallery hotel in Aix. After that experience, I joined the Sofitel Hotel team at the Golfe d’Ajaccio as their Director of Operations for three years. 

I took the opportunity to return to my origins and join the Novotel and Ibis Hotel Combo in Senegal as the General Manager. After over 8 years with Accor, I took the opportunity then to join the Mangalis Hotel Group and became CEO, managing 6 hotels in 4 different West African countries.

I have now founded my own firm, providing strategic consulting, management training programs, organizational development and transformation.

AAIMHI: Would you say that IMHI had an impact to your career? Was it an accelerator?

Mark: The incredible reputation of the program has been a boost for sure. But I must emphasize the strength of the network of professionals. IMHI alumni always take the time to answer your calls, that is definitively a huge plus.

As for the courses, P&L analysis, Revenue Management and the Strategy courses were extremely helpful in my career and immediate after the program.

AAIMHI: Could you share an achievement you are particularly proud of?

Mark: Becoming general manager was a significant milestone for me without a doubt. It had actually been an important dream for me throughout my studies and when it finally happened, I definitively felt proud of my achievement. Moreover, the fact that it was a combo hotel in a different country, represented a bigger challenge that I was delighted to take on.

AAIMHI: Are there any lessons you have learned in your career that you would like to share with the younger graduates?

Mark: I believe in the importance of clearly communicating your expectations and your needs both to your team and to your employees. I used to assume that what I wanted was logical and needless to mention. Throughout my career, I learned to be specific and make clear requests. 

In addition, I recommend avoiding sending an email right after a stressful moment or to address a larger issue right after an emotionally challenging situation. To let it rest a day, leave the email in the draft for a day. Almost all the time, I would completely change the phrasing and structure of the email. 

Finally, the importance of reaching out to more senior professionals for discussions, sharing ideas and obtain advice that would match your goals. This industry is full of amazing professionals with limitless experience and knowledge, and I am personally thankful as I received countless fruitful advice from industry peers. 

AAIMHI: Besides the academic degree, which are the soft skills you believe are particularly important today?

Mark: This question is indeed a burning topic. With the increased access of free knowledge, free data and technical online trainings, through video platforms, metasearch or CHAT GPT, technical skills play a less significant differentiating role in the recruitment process.

Instead, great soft skills and high level of emotional intelligence are increasingly expected of candidates nowadays. I would rather have recruited a candidate with little technical skills in the field, but with high level of soft skills and a positive attitude. Any organization can train technical skills through mentoring, trainings, and SOPs, opposed to soft skills which in most cases are the result of introspection, consciousness, and personal development. 

AAIMHI: Do you believe the alumni association AAIMHI, the IMHI network, is important?

Mark: There is clearly no other network that has the same energy and commitment like the IMHI alumni network! This strong community is the force of the entire program. As I mentioned before, you can always reach out to other IMHI, they will always connect. In addition, the alumni association has organized a variety of events, in Paris and abroad, that help the alumni to stay connected and close to the program. 

AAIMHI: Thank you very much Mark for sharing your story!