Honouring Hilton's Brightest Stars

Hilton's Hospitality Stars Shine

Hilton has announced the recipients of its 2024 CEO Light & Warmth Award, which recognizes 16 individuals and one team within Hilton’s portfolio of brands. The CEO Light & Warmth Award is the company’s highest honour, celebrating Hilton team members worldwide who exemplify Hilton’s values and honour Hilton’s purpose of filling the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality. 

Team members who received this prestigious award were hand-selected from nearly 700 nominations by a committee of colleagues and Christopher J. Nassetta, Hilton's president and CEO. These team members bring Hilton's values to life through stories of exceptional hospitality, inclusive teamwork, innovation, and community stewardship.  

Americas CEO Light & Warmth Award Winners  

Stacie Bladen, Director of Rooms, Hilton McLean Tysons Corner

During Hilton's Travel with Purpose Week, Stacie and her partner transformed their postponed wedding plans into a meaningful community service initiative. They partnered with Beloved Asheville to assist those in need following Hurricane Helene. Stacie used her vacation days and personal vehicle to ferry supplies up and down impacted roads, delivering food, water, and other necessities to Asheville residents who could not access supplies due to their isolation or disabilities. 

Toni Colson, Senior Director, Owner Engagement, Hilton

Toni’s passion for service can be seen in every interaction with guests, team members or Hilton’s community of owners. She balances the expectations of various stakeholders while supporting her team's memorable and meaningful work. Although in a corporate role, Toni demonstrates Hilton's hospitality to all, and her love for the community is evident through her passion for service, frequently engaging her team to support their communities through projects like preparing meals at food banks and building bikes for children. 

Neil Castañeda, Manager, Hilton Lima Miraflores

“Neil has always been an incredibly open leader with his team members in his area and in other areas. He is always ready to listen and support everyone who needs it actively. In the hotel's internal HR activities, he organizes the schedules so that his team can attend and enjoy the event while he covers the shift for them. Neil exemplifies our Hilton values exceptionally well. His commitment to service, professionalism, and humanity is evident in his outstanding work.” 

Kaitlyn Condon, Group Sales Manager, Hilton Boston Park Plaza 

As a group sales manager, Kaitlyn constantly exceeds her sales expectations for the hotel while fostering a positive, inclusive work environment that inspires her team and creates extraordinary experiences for her guests. In addition to being a collaborative leader at the hotel, she is also passionate about giving back. She has dedicated over a decade to feeding the homeless and supporting various food donation programs in her community.  

Michelle Keck, General Manager, Homewood Suites by Hilton Wilmington-Brandywine Valley 

With Michelle’s inclusive leadership style and dedication to mentorship, Homewood Suites by Hilton Wilmington-Brandywine Valley has earned multiple accolades and continues to lead in guest satisfaction. Beyond her professional achievements and passion for mentoring, she actively gives back to the community, leading initiatives to support domestic violence survivors, fundraising for awareness campaigns and advocating for increased state funding to assist those in need. 

Vincenzo (Vinnie) Miliano, Bar Manager, Conrad Los Angeles 

Through creativity, hospitality, and thoughtfulness, Vinnie consistently goes above and beyond to surprise and delight guests while investing in his team's professional development. Beyond his dedication to guest service, his passion for sustainability brings innovative solutions to Conrad Los Angeles. For example, he donates all used wine corks to ReCork, which converts them into products such as shoes. 

Daryana Murillo, Assistant General Manager, Hampton Inn Louisville-Northeast 

Daryana is a leader who goes above and beyond to create a welcoming and respectful environment for her team. When faced with challenging situations, her patience and professionalism make the stay for her guests, earning their heartfelt gratitude. A recent naturalized citizen of the U.S., she leads her diverse team with warmth and inclusivity and works to organize team bonding and development opportunities. Daryana is dedicated to her work and community, which she frequently supports through volunteering and acting as a language interpreter for people in crisis. 

Asia Pacific CEO Light & Warmth Award Winners

Hong Ma, Room Attendant, Conrad Shenyang 

Because of Hong’s passionate service and personalization as part of Conrad Shenyang’s Housekeeping Team, guests can expect exemplary hospitality. Her leadership and collaboration fostered cohesion amongst her team, and because of her mentoring efforts, Hong successfully trained more than 20 new team members. Hong has also supported the property’s commitment to sustainability by personally planting and caring for its landscape trees, saving the hotel significant resources while creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests.

Sudhagar Sethuraman, Assistant Director of Sales, Hilton Garden Inn Bengaluru Embassy Manyata Business Park 

Sudhagar proactively addresses operational challenges, streamlines communications and fosters a collaborative environment with his team. His commitment to sustainability and mentoring others empowers and supports the career development of new team members. Through his sales expertise and passion for hospitality, Sudhagar has supported significant business for the hotel while giving back to the community, supporting armed forces personnel and encouraging personal health and wellness.  \

Jiajia Wang, F&B Guest Service Agent, Hilton Garden Inn Xi'an Hi-Tech Zone 

"Despite not being able to communicate verbally or hear sounds, she [Jiaja] constantly finds ways to ask colleagues for help with patience and tries her best to express her ideas. Jiajia’s vitality and positive attitude constantly inspire everyone around her. From our perspective, we can see that she has put in much more effort and overcome more challenges than many of us. Yet, she has successfully risen above these difficulties to become an outstanding food and beverage attendant, gaining the recognition of both our guests and our team.”

The Cairns Emergency Response Team 

The Cairns Emergency Response Team, consisting of team members from Hilton Cairns and DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns, demonstrated extraordinary bravery by protecting and evacuating guests during a rooftop helicopter crash. The fearless team members cared for displaced and newly arriving guests addressed building damage and identified quick solutions during the incident to ensure everyone’s safety. In addition to assisting in-house guests, they managed arrivals over the next 72 hours despite the hotel closure. Through close collaboration with the owners, the team remarkably reopened the hotel for trading within 48 hours of the incident. The team includes: 

• Lee Anne Azzopardi, reservations agent 
• Noni Connors, business development coordinator  
• Kevin Foster, night manager 
• Bienvenue Habinshuti, assistant night manager 
• Rakesh Joshi, head chef 
• MinSeong Kim, porter 
• Yusei Kodama, sales manager Asia 
• Ebony Landouw, GC&E sales executive 
• Stephen Laney, maintenance manager 
• Nathan Mackenzie, guest service agent 
• Matthias Mager, commercial manager 
• Anu Mathew, assistant night manager  
• Marlon Mendiola, front-of-house manager  
• Courtney O'Hara, GC&E sales manager 
• Naoya Ohata, director of operations 
• Nelson Ong, food & beverage services manager 
• Luse Rainima, front office supervisor  
• Patricio Ramolfo, IT manager 
• Arun Paul Thomas, night auditor 
• Jonathan Yanni, reservation manager 

Europe, Middle East and Africa CEO Light & Warmth Award Winners

Ahmed Abdoun, Chief Concierge, Ramses Hilton 

As a chief concierge, Ahmed works to make every guest feel at home. From unique visits to sick guests and weekly wellness emails to his team, Ahmed receives positive praise from everyone he encounters, with many guests crediting him as saying they will return to Ramses Hilton. In addition to his work, Ahmed works with charity houses, orphanages and elders' homes to arrange for monthly visits from the hotel team.  

Denise Beadle, Food & Beverage Supervisor, DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon

“Denise has been a pillar of support and continuity in our hotel for over 25 years. She never fails to remember a face or a name, welcoming back returners with warmth and genuine interest in their recent exploits. Her passion to deliver first class service with a bright smile is infectious and this never falters, even with the 4 a.m. wake up call for early breakfast…Denise embodies the ethos of Hilton. Her warmth radiates all around the hotel, felt by both the guests and the team.” 

Sherif Darwish, General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Aqaba 

Sherif’s leadership at DoubleTree by Hilton Aqaba has profoundly impacted his guests, team members, and the Aqaba community. In addition to demonstrating exceptional hospitality to guests when needed, he has supported the hotel’s performance, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Sherif is known for his commitment to sustainability and his community and for supporting local heroes, hospitals, and schools for individuals with disabilities.

Lesley Harkins, Senior Reservation Specialist, Owners Desk, Hilton Reservations & Customer Care, Hilton 

Lesley exemplifies hospitality, integrity, and dedication to her work. She provides exceptional service to Hilton’s community of owners and VIP guests. Known for her kindness, grace, and smile, her team can count on her to bring a positive attitude to the office, and Hilton’s community of owners can rely on her for friendly and reliable hospitality.  

Yelzhan Kabiden, Junior Pastry Sous Chef, Hilton Astana 

Yelzhan’s leadership and compassion extend beyond the walls of the hotel. From organizing pastry master classes for children to creating specialized pastries for a Women’s Day celebration, he turns the ordinary into something meaningful. Yelzhan also spreads the light and warmth of hospitality beyond the kitchen through charitable initiatives, including organizing marathons to support children with Down syndrome, helping domestic violence victims, and volunteering with the elderly.  

Roman Uhlir, Restaurants & Bar Manager, Hilton Prague 

In addition to his expertise in gastronomy, Roman has worked to make every guest experience positive and unique at the Cloud 9 bar for over 15 years. Roman brings happiness to everyone he encounters and mentors others in the hotel and his community. He has created a bartending school that has trained over 3,500 students. As part of his community outreach initiatives, Roman extends training opportunities to groups with disabilities. 

A Business of People Serving People  

Since 2011, over $1.65 million has been awarded to more than 150 recipients of the Hilton CEO Light & Warmth program. As a company committed to serving people, Hilton aims to equip its team members with the necessary tools and information to bring hospitality to life and advance their careers. This enables them to provide exceptional guest experiences and contribute to the success of the business.

Hilton team members are the reason the company is a force for good in the world, why guests choose to return to the hospitality leader, and why it has been recognized by Great Place to Work and Fortune as the top hospitality workplace and the No. 1 Best Place to Work in the U.S.