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The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality PodcastAuthor: Michelle Pascoe
Welcome to The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast, where we explore the heart of the hospitality industry through conversations with leaders, experts, and innovators. Each episode brings you insights, practical advice, and inspiring stories that help you elevate guest experiences, enhance team performance, and stay ahead of industry trends. Whether you're an owner, manager, or passionate professional, this podcast will ignite your passion for hospitality. Tune in, learn, and grow with us! Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Why Boards Keep Hiring the Wrong Person for the Top Job
Episode 329
Tuesday, 14 July, 2026
Boards keep hiring hospitality leaders for operational experience instead of leadership capability, according to recruitment specialists Ian Stazicker & Grant Taylor of White Now, speaking with Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional and hospitality training expert. The right club CEO needs strategic thinking, critical thinking and genuine leadership, not familiarity with gaming machines or years behind the bar. So what should a board actually be looking for when they hire their next CEO? In this episode, Michelle Pascoe sits down with Ian and Grant, the new owners of White Now Recruitment, the long-standing recruitment agency for Australia's registered clubs and hospitality industry. Ian and Grant bring something most recruitment consultants don't have: genuine operational experience inside a club, having turned around a struggling regional club together before taking ownership of White Now. That background changes how they work. The conversation also gets into why boards keep making the same hiring mistake. Boards work because they hire for leadership, strategic thinking, and critical thinking, not for familiarity with gaming machines or years spent pouring beers. That distinction matters more as clubs face a wave of senior retirements and a middle management gap that opened during Covid and never fully closed. If you're a CEO, board member, or people leader in hospitality, particularly in a regional club, this conversation will change how you think about your next senior hire. Key Takeaways Why accommodation is the first question regional club candidates ask, before anything about the role itself. How clubs can use spare land and repurposed property to solve the regional housing problem for incoming staff. Why boards keep hiring for operational familiarity instead of leadership, strategic thinking, and critical thinking. How the hospitality leadership pipeline is thinning as senior leaders retire and middle managers who left during Covid haven't fully returned. Why bringing in leaders from outside the industry, including regulated sectors like aged care, can solve the talent gap boards are afraid to address. Next Steps Subscribe to The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify: https://www.michellepascoe.com/The-Michelle-Pascoe-Hospitality-Podcast Join Michelle's newsletter for leadership, culture, and service excellence: https://www.michellepascoe.com/blog Book customer service workshops and middle management programs tailored to clubs, hotels, and hospitality venues: https://www.michellepascoe.com/traininganddevelopmentprograms About Michelle Michelle Pascoe helps hospitality leaders build multigenerational teams, lift service standards, and embed values-led culture. A Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years in the hospitality industry, Michelle delivers bespoke keynotes, workshops, and leadership programs for clubs, hotels, and hospitality venues across Australia and internationally. Book customer service workshops and middle management programs: https://www.michellepascoe.com/traininganddevelopmentprograms About White Now Ian and Grant are the owners of White Now Recruitment, the leading recruitment agency for Australia's registered clubs and hospitality industry, and operate under their parent company ETE Hospitality Solutions. Ian brings over 30 years of senior leadership experience across tourism, hospitality, destination marketing, luxury retail, and real estate development in global markets, and previously served as president of the Bermagui Country Club board. Grant has spent 20 years working in clubs and hospitality in regional areas, including a senior finance role in consulting, and now leads the operational side of White Now. Find them at https://www.whitenow.com.au
