Hospitality Design - April 2023 - 143

hd expo previewwomen in design
By Kathryn Greene and Katie Kervin
NEXT LEVEL
Meet the industry leaders being honored at HD Expo's fi rst Women in Design Awards
The spa at the Conrad Tulum Riviera
Maya Resort is nestled in the jungle
Meghann Day
President of the Americas and Partner
HBA
As a partner of HBA's San Francisco offi ce and recently named to the newly
created role of president of the Americas for the fi rm, Day represents a new
leadership guard. In her 17-year career with HBA, Day has risen through
the ranks (starting as a junior designer) and has been instrumental in the
prosperity of the studio, from leading high-profi le hospitality projects to
fostering rising talent.
What started your love of hospitality?
[For my fi rst job out of college] I ended up at a fi rm in Southern California.
They did commercial and residential work, but had just started a hospitality
department. They were doing a large resort hotel in Rancho Palos Verdes.
I was one of the junior team members [and] we traveled a lot. I had a great
mentor and she would make sure we stayed at the W Hotel that just opened
[for example]. We have to look at it, to be infl uenced by it. She wanted us not
to stay at a hotel that's a litt le more standard, but really experience newly
opened properties.
From there you went on to HBA.
A gentlemen from HBA came down; he had worked for [retired HBA
International partner and outgoing chairman] Michael Bender and one
of his former colleagues was working for [the fi rm I was at]. The next
week, four of us submitt ed our resumes and four of us all moved up to Los
Angeles with new jobs. So it was so random. That's where I met Michael
Bedner. He interviewed each one of us-at that time it was an offi ce of
almost 80, but he interviewed everyone.
You started as a junior designer at HBA and were recently
promoted to president of the Americas. Talk about your journey.
I started at the bott om, which is great. Aſt er three years, I had worked up to
be a designer and worked on a couple projects in Hong Kong, learning very
fast in front of clients and in meetings. The recession hit and I transferred
to San Francisco. I wanted to move to a diff erent city but stay with HBA,
and Michael gave me that opportunity. It was a boutique offi ce with only
two team members. I'd never invoiced a client, I had never marketed for a
client, I [had only seen] Michael do it. It was just survival. We hit the ground
running and started working in China, proving to [operators] that we could
do it at a young age. We started out with lobbies, one meeting room, or a
small scope and slowly built the reputation of San Francisco from there.
Have you had other mentors along the way?
There are so many great mentors that have allowed me to ask questions over
the years. How do you do this? How are you navigating this? When I fi rst
moved to San Francisco, Jennifer Ramsey [president of Ramsey Purchasing],
who I didn't know, took me out to lunch and outlined navigation, clientele,
who I should talk to. I've been lucky that in this industry the women are so
supportive of younger generations and want to develop these relationships
together. And the female leadership at HBA now is nice. It's been a good
cultural change.
How do you pass that on?
Doing the same thing. We've had individuals come and go, some that
wanted to start their businesses but be associated with HBA. Supporting
them, giving them guidance, just like Jennifer did for me. Internally, doing
the same thing with leadership opportunities, [giving people the chance] to
run projects in their careers much earlier on.
Women in Design Awards
May 2nd
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Location: South Seas Ballroom
hospitalitydesign.com April 2023
143
The wood-swathed Ukai Japanese
restaurant at the Conrad Tulum
Photos by VICTOR ELIAS and DAVID LEES
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - April 2023
