Power List 2018, Zaid Sadiq, Executive Director – Liasoning & Hospitality, Prestige Group

Emerging trends may have intensified pressures facing business leaders, but Zaid Sadiq remains unaffected and undeterred. He reveals, “On the hospitality front, the Prestige Group has been credited with introducing some of the most reputed international brands in the world to South India — The Hilton Group and Marriott International for hotels; the Banyan Tree for resorts; and Oakwood for service apartments.”
He avers, “We have built our hospitality business such that it focuses on diverse market segments, targeting and driving both short and extended stay guests along with traditional, GenX and GenNext business and leisure travellers.”
A people’s person, apart from being an exemplary leader, Sadiq is actively involved in the public relations affairs of the company. He also plays a major role in building confidence and good relationships with external and internal customers and oversees the critical task of building a suitable image and reputation for the company.
Calculated risk taking is second nature to this dynamic business leader. He elaborates, “The Prestige Group believes in investing in different scales of hotels, offering diverse concepts and services in order to hedge the risk. This strategy is visible in the launch of The Sheraton Grand Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre, a hotel in the heart of a tech park with a sprawling 2,600+ capacity Convention Centre that boasts state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and technology, targeting global travellers who visit India’s very own Silicon Valley.”
His incisive perception of the market trends is incomparable. Says Sadiq, “The hospitality industry, where client needs are ever-changing, is on the threshold of growth and there is a positive business environment. There are opportunities in different micro-markets as opposed to an overall generic demand, depending on the products, services and brands on offer, as these factors play a pivotal role in the hospitality industry in particular. Furthermore, there is a huge demand for mid-segment hotels in the three-star and four-star categories.”
The Prestige Group, according to him, strongly believes in forecasting, planning and investing in future trends and growth by carefully analysing the patterns of changes in customers’ preferences and expectations. Explains Sadiq, “All our existing and newly launched hospitality projects are designed, constructed and operated keeping in mind the ever-changing customer behaviour in the industry.
“With a plan to establish the group as a dominant presence in hospitality development across Southern India, we are working on the group scaling up slowly, but surely.”.
A firm believer of work-life balance, Sadiq says, “I strongly believe in getting adequate time with my family. My evenings are usually devoted to spending time at home or stepping out with family to visit friends and watch movies. On the personal front, a lesser-known fact about me is that I am an avid biker and enjoy long bike rides over the weekends.”