Meet the expert...
Kathy Sorenson
People and Culture Director - Middle East at Premier Inn Hotels - Middle East
Kathy Sorenson, Director of Human Resources at Premier Inn MENA, is a seasoned HR professional with nearly 30 years’ global experience through inhouse and consultancy roles in New Zealand, Canada and, for the last 14 years, the UAE.
After running a successful Dubai-based HR consultancy for six years, Kathy joined Premier Inn MENA in 2018 to redesign and centralise the HR function, focussing on driving team engagement and company culture as well as overseeing all HR activities at the company’s Middle East corporate office and 11 hotels in the UAE and Qatar.
Kathy plays a leading role in delivering new team member-focussed initiatives, including Premier Inn’s inhouse Moon & Stars Awards programme and One Team One Heartbeat, the company’s culture, training and development programme. She is also pivotal in achieving the company’s continued record-breaking team member engagement scores, and is the driving force of Premier Inn’s team member development policy of promoting from within wherever possible.
Discover more content with Kathy Sorenson
Promoting from within: Steps to get it right
From Cubicles to Clouds: The Radical Transformation of the Workplace
Building bridges: Your guide for fostering a positive organisational culture
Building an organisational learning culture for the future
Cultivating psychological safety: What is it and how do you get it?