Jade Russell, procurement director for furniture, fixtures and equipment at IHG, is a member of the advisory board for Hotec Design, an annual conference presented by Questex Hospitality, the parent company of Hotel Management. At the conference, buyers meet one-on-one with hospitality-focused suppliers to learn about new products and services and to keep up to date on emerging trends.
Russell started out in customer service while getting her bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management analysis from Indiana State University’s Scott College of Business. After graduating, she took a position as a product and market analyst for MasterBrand Cabinets. “I really helped do all of the market data research across all their competitors, specifically for their custom product lines with cabinetry,” she said.
She stayed with MasterBrand for nearly five years as the company expanded. “I was responsible for all the new product development for them, so anytime they would enter in a new cabinet or SKU or modification, I would help create the actual marketing materials that would go to the dealer and see the people placing the orders,” she recalled. She was also responsible for handling pricing for all of the company’s products, and began shifting her focus to cost improvement.
In mid-2014 she moved on to Kimball International, where she became involved with the hospitality sphere for the first time. As a project manager, she oversaw the development of Kimball's custom projects, providing support to Marriott International and Hilton hotels as well as MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts projects in Las Vegas. “I would help develop, with our Asia team, all of the drawings, design specifications, finishes—things of that nature and really manage the project from the point that we received the order all the way through to delivery,” she said.
After a year, she became the director of sales for major accounts at the company and started working with Hilton’s design teams on the Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn and flagship brand schemes as well as doing all the development for the Tru by Hilton brand.
Joining IHG
Working hand-in-hand with design teams from the brands prepared Russell to join IHG as a procurement director. “[I could] show that I've already done that job from the outside, which is much harder than from the inside,” she said.
At IHG, she balances the visions of the designers with the realities of the supply chain and costs. “And so I go in and ask them pretty intentional questions about what is their target goal for cost? What is the most important element? … What do you want guests to feel like? What is the overall goal? Who are your guests? What are you trying to create with this, so that when I see trade-offs that might need to be made, I can try to suggest one that makes sense.”
Russell appreciates working directly with the brands through the development process because she can see a clear impact on the industry, particularly in how the market at large perceives a brand or even a company. Having worked on both sides of the table as both a supplier and a buyer has given her a good understanding of the challenges facing hoteliers and vendors alike. “I do believe that these are partnerships. They are not dictatorships where, because I have the power, you just do whatever I say,” she said.
Conferences have helped Russell keep abreast of new initiatives and connect with new suppliers who can get her what each project under her purview needs. “I truly believe you need to create personal experiences with people to really connect,” she said of in-person networking. While large conferences are convenient for meeting lots of people at once, she finds them challenging to have organic and “intimate” conversations. “When you're in a smaller setting, that helps create more unique individual experiences, where it is more of a one-to-one focus.”
The 2022 Hotec Design conference will take place June 20-23 at the Breakers Palm Beach in Florida. Registration is open for both buyers and suppliers.