Mark Dalton
Director of Commercial Finance - Europe at Hilton Worldwide, Maple Court, Watford, UK, Graduated 2002, César Ritz
My career started as a Guest Service intern at the five-star Sheraton on the Park Hotel in my hometown of Sydney, Australia. Following that I completed a second internship in Food and Beverage at the world renowned Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich before graduating with a Hotel Management Diploma from César Ritz Colleges. I then relocated to the United States where I completed an 18-month Rooms Division Management traineeship with the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.Soon thereafter I returned to Australia and gained experience in Sales and Marketing at the Sydney Hilton Hotel as a Corporate Sales Executive. Whilst back in Sydney I also completed my Bachelor of Business at the International College of Management and then headed off to work in finance at the five-star Rydges Jamison Hotel in the centre of the city. It was there that I discovered my love for the financial side of the hotel business.
A promotion and opportunity to relocate to London saw me working at the Rydges Kensington Plaza Hotel in South Kensington. In addition to being the hotel’s Financial Controller, I also acted as the IT Manager and Assistant General Manager. As my passion for finance continued to grow I returned to the Hilton group two years later as the Director of Finance at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Hotel, the second-largest EBITDA contributor to the Hilton Estate in the United Kingdom.
After 18 months there I was promoted to the position of Director of Finance of the London Hilton on Park Lane, Hilton’s flagship five-star property situated right in the centre of Mayfair and the number one EBITDA contributor to Hilton’s European balance sheet. This iconic property has an excellent reputation for being one of London’s finest hotels and the two and half years I spent there will always be a highlight in my career.
In January 2011 I transferred to the Hilton Worldwide Global Operations Office at Maple Court and am now the Director of Commercial Finance for Europe. This role has me actively involved with a number of strategic projects in the areas of Finance, Law, Asset Management, Feasibility and Development supporting more than 150 hotels across Europe and covering all brands under Hilton Worldwide (Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Doubletree, Hampton and Garden Inns). The Hilton Corporation continues to be a market leader within the Hospitality Industry and I am honoured to be a part of their senior team driving future strategies and performance within the business.
