Business name: Prestige Apartments
Based: London
Website: www.prestigeapartments.co.uk
Person nominated: Alexandra Wood, managing director
Alex started Prestige Apartments over 10 years ago with the aim of becoming the top serviced apartment provider in the UK by providing high-quality apartments to both the private and corporate sectors.
As the business has grown, Alex now leads a committed and empowered team. Essential to good leadership is the ability to delegate and what she does so well is she identifies her team’s strengths and trusts them with her vision. Alex knows which tasks individual members of her team find enjoyable and understands that if you give someone a task they enjoy, they’ll put their all into it.
Prestige team members are therefore encouraged to view the apartments that they’ll be providing, developing close links with landlords at all levels of the company.
Last year a new website and booking software were implemented. Using the website as the main customer interface, all staff are encouraged to share thoughts and images, tweet and create active social networks to promote the company and demonstrate the depth of knowledge that they have about their services. Alex’s team also frequently attends industry events to research and consolidate relationships with both suppliers and customers.
How can the effect of her leadership be measured? When the office environment is one of the happiest in the industry and with growth and job security, you know you have an inspirational leader.
