The Pioneer Contributing to the Hospitality Sector and the Economy of the Country
The hospitality sector across the globe has witnessed significant growth over the past few years. The rise of tourism, coupled with an increase in disposable income has led to a surge in demand for hotel rooms, restaurants, and other related services. As a result, the industry has been expanding rapidly with both domestic and international players investing heavily in the sector. The government’s initiatives to promote tourism and hospitality, such as the development of tourism infrastructure and the relaxation of visa regulations, have also contributed to the industry’s growth. Besides the government, there are few people who have done exceptional work to boost the hospitality sector. Today, we are going to talk about one such visionary person – Dr. Nitin Shankar Nagrale.
Dr. Nitin Shankar Nagrale is working with M/s Quality New Zealand as CEO India and Emerging Markets since February 2020. A unique business model by some world-class cricketers of New Zealand like Sir Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming, Brandon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, and Geoff Allott. QualityNZ also offers Education and Recruitment services and is soon to launch Tourism. He brings with him a rich experience of over 27 years during which he has been actively involved in managing procurement and supply chain procedures for key hotels like Taj Mahal Palace & Towers, Taj Land’s End (The Regent Mumbai), Grand Hyatt Mumbai, The Westin Mumbai Garden City, Sofitel Mumbai BKC and upcoming The Chedi Mumbai (formerly Radisson Blu Plaza Mumbai) as Director Materials.
Dr Nagrale is widely known as the king of Indian hospitality purchase. He is a pioneer who built a forum that tremendously contributes to the hospitality sector as well as the economy of the country. He brought recognition to the purchase managers by uniting them towards skill development, and knowledge sharing. He realized that there was a need for one common body for purchase managers. His vision was way ahead of time to realise that purchase managers need to associate and network to grow stronger and more efficient. His vision became a mission with HPMF, Hospitality Purchase Manager Forum. Today, HPMF is one of the strongest and most impactful bodies at the national and international levels with its presence in 30+ countries and 6000+ members. Nitin believes in sustainability, development of team members, and trust, etc.
In October 2019, he was bestowed with Honorary Doctorate in Supply Chain Management by National American University at the Embassy of Russian Federation (RCSC), New Delhi. Besides this, he has many awards and recognition to his credit. He was chosen the most influential food industry professional at Asia Food Congress 2020. He won Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 at Bangalore. He was awarded with hospitality professional of the Year 2018 at MODI (Making of Developed India) awards for excellence in hospitality & tourism. Also, he was awarded with most admired procurement person of the Year at CMO Asia 2017. He was awarded Face of the Future by India Hospitality Awards 2016.
Apart from this, he is the first person in the world to have completed the certified hotel purchase manager certification course from the American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute (AHLEI).