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Sue Walter is the CEO of The Roof Gardens, one of London’s most distinctive private members’ clubs, set 100 feet above Kensington High Street across an acre of historic gardens.
Her career has spanned hospitality, people and culture, private equity, publishing, music, education and the public sector. She has held senior leadership roles at organisations including the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Opera House, Universal Music and several private members’ clubs, developing a reputation for building successful businesses around people, purpose and community.
In the second episode of Makers Workshop, we sit down with Sue at The Roof Gardens to explore how leaders build world-class hospitality teams and create communities people genuinely want to belong to.
Sue explains why kindness is the defining value at The Roof Gardens, how values must influence real decisions, and why the club will cancel the membership of anyone who treats its team or other members unkindly.
We discuss the relationship between people and profit, why investing in employees is one of the most commercial decisions a hospitality leader can make, and how a strong internal culture shapes every part of the customer experience.
Sue also takes us inside the creation of The Roof Gardens’ new community. She reveals how nearly 1,500 people joined before the club had even opened, why the business does very little conventional marketing, and how emotional connection, consistency and word of mouth have helped establish a powerful sense of belonging.
The conversation explores leadership, employee engagement, customer experience, workplace culture, private members’ clubs, hospitality management, community building and the challenge of protecting a company’s purpose as it grows.
Makers Workshop is a podcast about the people behind remarkable work. Hosted by Erik Stjernström and Julia Andersson of Makers Morrow, each episode is a conversation with someone who has spent their life creating, building or shaping something worth paying attention to.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- Building a world-class hospitality team
- Creating a genuine sense of belonging
- Why kindness is a powerful company value
- The relationship between people, culture and profit
- How leaders stay connected to employees and customers
- Building trust through consistency
- Attracting 1,500 members before opening
- Why The Roof Gardens does very little traditional marketing
- Protecting company culture during growth
- Giving employees freedom without losing direction
- Why micromanagement holds people back
- Creating an exceptional customer experience
- Turning negative experiences around
- Building loyalty and retaining great people
- The future of private members’ clubs
CHAPTERS:
- Preview
- Welcome to Makers Workshop
- Sue Walter’s unconventional leadership journey
- How leaders influence company culture
- Why people and profit are connected
- Reinventing an iconic London venue
- Protecting culture as a business grows
- Kindness as a non-negotiable company value
- Why people are searching for belonging
- How The Roof Gardens attracted 1,500 members
- Building a community without traditional marketing
- Emotional connection and brand loyalty
- Recruiting and empowering exceptional people
- Why confident leaders avoid micromanagement
- How employee retention shapes customer experience
- Creating hospitality that makes people feel seen
- Can a strong culture be recreated elsewhere?
- How consistency builds trust
- Balancing openness with professional boundaries
- What people should take into their next role
- Will the flamingos return?
New episodes every Tuesday.
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