Design Thinking at Four Seasons
Katie Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Moderator: Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management
Biography: Katie Taylor
Kathleen (Katie) Taylor is President and Chief Operating Officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s global operations.
Since joining Four Seasons in 1989, Katie has played a key role in its growth and success, including the expansion of the company’s portfolio to the present 82 properties in 34 countries, and an additional 43 hotels and resorts now under construction and development around the world.
Prior to assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer in January 2007, Katie was President of Worldwide Business Operations for seven years, overseeing all aspects of the business side of the company, including direction of Four Seasons’ worldwide hotel and residential product design, construction and development activities, managing the company’s acquisition and corporate planning, overseeing the corporate finance and legal affairs groups, and the corporate human resources and corporation administration areas.
Katie’s business achievements have been recognized in recent years with the Schulich Award for Outstanding Executive Leadership in 2001, the IREFAC Chairman’s Award in 2003, CGCA Award for Business Achievement in 2006 and induction to the Marketing Hall of Legends in 2009.
A member of IREFAC (Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association), Katie is also a director of the Royal Bank of Canada and a member of its Audit Committee and the Chair of the Human Resources Committee. She is a member of the Cabinet of the Toronto United Way and the chair of its Endowment Giving, and is also a member of the board of The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation in Toronto and is the Chair of the Compensation and Resource Management Committee.
Katie obtained a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business in 1984.
She lives in Toronto with her husband and their three children, and together they enjoy all outdoor sports, including skiing, cycling and tennis.
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