“Woman of Decade in Business & leadership”- Ms Ranju Alex GM, JW Marriott Kolkata

Ranju Alex is the General Manager of JW Marriott Kolkata, and the Multi-Property Vice-President, East (East India, Bhutan and Bangladesh); most notably, the first lady to lead the team of the East. She joined Marriott International in the year 2010 after being the officiating GM at the Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata. She moved to Goa as the General Manager of Goa Marriott Resort & Spa after completing a successful tenure with the first Marriott property in Pune as the GM of Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi.

In her current role, Ranju is responsible for overseeing all aspects of operational and strategic management of JW Marriott Kolkata. Her intrinsic traits to pay attention to detail and make critical judgments have undoubtedly led to the services and facilities for the property being top-notch from Day one. In all areas of the hotel, be it the products, people or processes, she has personally looked into the minutest fine points, thus aiming to make the property a shining star for all that the Marriott brand embodies. As MPVP East India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Ranju has responsibility of strategic management of nine hotels with their General Managers reporting to her, and seven others in the pipeline. Ranju is extremely passionate towards promoting and advocating women workforce in the hotel industry. She has been invited by several countries like Sweden, Netherlands, UK and US speak on women empowerment.

Ranju brings with her close to two decades of experience in hotel management and operations. In her earlier stints, Ranju has served as the General Manager of Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata, Courtyard by Marriott, Pune and more recently, at Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. A Diploma holder in Hotel Management, Ranju is an alumnus of IHM Kolkata. She is also a gold medalist from the Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD). Being an operations person and having grown through the ranks, Ranju’s prime credo has always been guest satisfaction of the highest possible degree.

She leads her team by example, by personally interacting with guests in a manner that can only be described as warm, hospitable and affectionate. Ranju has admitted that despite her outstanding qualifications and training, this approach and conduct is something that truly comes from her heart. She attributes a large part of it to being a woman, and strongly believes that if there’s anything challenging to be achieved, there is a special strength that only a woman can bring to the table. Ranju is passionate about the domain of women’s empowerment, the role and scope of women in today’s age and believes that women are as capable as men in all spheres of life and commerce.

In her professional career, Ranju has displayed commendable performance and racked up an impressive line-up of awards, both for her properties as well as herself as a leader. One of the most notable awards conferred on her was the 2012 Women Achiever’s Award by the JSPM Group of Institutes in Pune, for her exemplary leadership at the Courtyard by Marriott Pune Hinjewadi. It is under her very leadership and tenure that the property also bagged awards for Elite Appreciation Year 2012 and Highest GSS Score Year 2012. The other prominent awards she received were India Sales General Manager of the Year 2014, Marriott International’s General Manager of the Year – Asia Pacific 2012 and Service Excellence General Manager of the Year 2012.

Despite being a super achiever in every realm of her professional career, her commitment to work has never come in the way of her leading a fulfilling personal life. She often acknowledges that her husband and children are her greatest treasures in life. A firm believer in ‘health is wealth’, she is a health and fitness conscious person who loves her sports; tennis and swimming, as much as she loves cooking for her friends and family. Travelling is another favourite hobby, as this allows her to spend quality time with her two children and husband. Ranju is an avid reader, having a home library of 6000 books, and she is also passionate about charity.

Ranju Alex is a true achiever in the very sense of the word. She believes in living life to the fullest and maximizing every moment of her time to its full potential and capacity, be it professionally or personally.