Two recent appointments to the executive team at The Star Sydney has seen the hotel achieve its target of equal gender representation across its senior leadership, the company has announced.
The six-person committee now comprises three men and three women following the appointments of Christina Lambert and Sandra Thefs to the roles of Director of Hotels and General Manager of Table Games respectively. The company says it has now met its target of 45% women and 45% men across its senior leadership team, allowing for the remaining 10% retained as flexible space for non-binary gender identities.
Lambert joined The Star Sydney in early 2019 as Director of Hotels and soon progressed to take on the additional responsibility overseeing the overall Guest Experience in her role. Central to the property achieving its Forbes Travel Guide Five Star award, Lambert is currently designing and implementing a program that ensures a consistent level of service is delivered at all venues and businesses across the property.
“I have had the pleasure of leading The Star Sydney’s hotel team over the last two years, and excited to extend my role into guest experience across the property,” Lambert said.
“It is important for me to see a balanced representation of genders in our teams, and I’m grateful to be part of that and ensuring it is reflected across all levels of The Star’s operations.”
Thefs is a gaming industry veteran, having joined The Star Entertainment Limited in 1995, first as a dealer at Treasury Brisbane and then relocated to Sydney for the launch of ‘Star City’ as it was then known in 1997.
“Throughout my time with The Star, I have always been supported in my ambitions to progress my career by my peers and my managers,” Thefs said.
“They instilled the confidence I needed and encouraged me to take up opportunities I might not have otherwise pursued.”
The Star Sydney Chief Operating Officer, Damian Quayle, said the achievement was the result of a focused effort in a talent acquisition and recruitment pipeline built around a culture of inclusivity and diversity in its work environment.
“I am incredibly proud to say that my leadership team reflects a more balanced representation of genders, of our workforce, of our community and the millions of guests we welcome each year,” Quayle said.
“I wholeheartedly believe that equal representation drives better teamwork, a wider base of experience to drawn upon and ultimately greater performance.”
Christina Lambert and Sandra Thefs join Samantha Apps on the senior leadership team, who joined in 2017 as General Manager, Group Procurement.