Anu Saxena’s Journey: Revolutionizing Hilton Supply Management
AS PRESIDENT of Hilton Supply Management, Anu Saxena oversees the procurement service for more than 17,000 hotel properties across 145 countries and manages $13 billion in global spending.
That’s notable, considering when Anu first joined HSM in 2017 its procurement services generated $4 billion across 90 countries.
Though it seemed a sprawling venture at that time, HSM was disjointed in its service delivery and policies. Anu was charged with reshaping the business and attract all Hilton franchisees to buy from HSM their FF&E and other goods that define every Hilton branded hotel around the world.
Anu immigrated to the U.S. in 1998 from India. “I was born in New Delhi and lived in Bangalore. North India born and raised in the south,” she said. A graduate of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, she joined Hilton in 2011.
Anu does not claim total credit for the growth of HSM over the past decade. It began when Hilton launched Tru, a midscale hotel with an affordable cookie-cutter prototype that Asian American hoteliers helped the company design.
The venture established a brand mandate by Hilton: Developers and franchisees of Tru must buy FF&E packages and other goods such as linens and uniforms exclusively from HSM. In previous years and brand rollouts, owners and developers could buy from Hilton-approved outside vendors. But for Tru, it was HSM all the way.
It was new idea inside of a new idea. Tru is fastidiously engineered to remain “true” to a price point – for developers and owners as well as guests.
The procurement program proved to be a test for HSM. And Anu.
She did not set out to become an expert in supply chain management. Rather, her career path with Ernst & Young involved some side trips through mergers and acquisitions of hospitals. She learned, “the biggest thing with a hospital M&A is to get the supply chains integrated.” Turned out, she enjoyed that part of the job the most. “So I stuck with it.”
Hilton established nearly 60 years ago. In 2016, Hilton spun off its owned hotels into a REIT and set up HSM as a separately functioning entity.
When she joined HSM, Anu was the only woman in the department “for quite a while.” She felt she had to prove herself on two levels – that she was a quick study on the hospitality industry and, as a woman, she brought value to the department.
“I approached the challenge as a consultant. At heart, I am a problem solver, and consulting is problem solving. I approached it in that manner and spent time learning about and understanding the department culture as well as creating relationships.”
While coming of age in India, Anu witnessed poverty created by the unfair distribution of people’s basic needs. Along with promoting Hilton’s capabilities and bottom line, Anu has uplifted minority-owned procurement companies and helped build owners’ wealth through her involvement with the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
This year, Anu became chair of the AHLA Foundation board of trustees.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Anu noted the hospitality industry is undergoing a “transformative time.”
“As we continue to strengthen the hospitality workforce pipeline and create opportunities for career growth, I look forward to working alongside my fellow trustees to expand the foundation's impact and ensure a bright future for hospitality professionals across the nation."
Anna Blue, the foundation’s president, stated: "Under Anu's leadership and with the unwavering support of our board of trustees, we are poised to drive lasting impact through our workforce development initiatives. Together, we will harness the power of this momentum to create transformative opportunities for the hotel workforce, shaping the future of our industry with purpose and passion."
Anu said the foundation is doing important work with diversity, equity, inclusion and its apprenticeships. It is also fighting human trafficking with its “No Room for Trafficking” program.
In a recent conversation with “It’s Personal Stories,” a hospitality podcast, Anu said there is a “network effect” created by organizations such as the foundation.
“You have people from all these different companies, different cultures, different priorities that all come together and collaborate to solve, some really tough problems with tremendous dedication. I think the recognition that when you have the right people working together with singular focus, you can solve big problems. Nothing seems out of reach, I feel that’s particularly inspiring.”
Anu believes there has been tremendous progress in increasing the number of women in leadership positions in the hospitality industry.
She shared with It’s Personal Stories: “That's important that the industry is taking note that there's a pipeline of incredible women that are now finding their footing and finding themselves in leadership, which I think is, obviously a great way to continue the journey of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Anu also is involved in the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. She previously was the vice chair of the foundation.
As evidence of her myriad interests and involvement in outside organizations, Anu advises that women take steps to improve their careers by developing new skills.
Learning is a lifelong quest. “I think that what happens is as you progress through your career, it's a challenge really to remind yourself to keep in that growth mindset.”
One also must learn how to overcome negative thoughts, she said.
“You have to not pay attention to it. Why limit yourself and why get in your own way,” she said. “These are barriers that you're creating for yourself. This is where your trusted advisers really come in handy. When you feel like you're getting stuck and you don't know how to get unstuck, or you start down the path of things that may or may not be true, lean on that group of trusted advisors. Call on people that can help you.”
