EPISODE 02 | SEASON 01
Sue Walter is the CEO of The Roof Gardens, one of London’s most distinctive private members’ clubs, set 100 feet above Kensington High Street across an acre of historic gardens.
Her career has spanned hospitality, people and culture, private equity, publishing, music, education and the public sector. She has held senior leadership roles at organisations including the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Opera House, Universal Music and several private members’ clubs, developing a reputation for building successful businesses around people, purpose and community.
In the second episode of Makers Workshop, we sit down with Sue at The Roof Gardens to explore how leaders build world-class hospitality teams and create communities people genuinely want to belong to.
Sue explains why kindness is the defining value at The Roof Gardens, how values must influence real decisions, and why the club will cancel the membership of anyone who treats its team or other members unkindly.
We discuss the relationship between people and profit, why investing in employees is one of the most commercial decisions a hospitality leader can make, and how a strong internal culture shapes every part of the customer experience.
The conversation explores leadership, employee engagement, customer experience, workplace culture, private members’ clubs, hospitality management, community building and the challenge of protecting a company’s purpose as it grows.
Makers Workshop is a podcast about the people behind remarkable work. Hosted by Erik Stjernström and Julia Andersson of Makers Morrow, each episode is a conversation with someone who has spent their life creating, building or shaping something worth paying attention to.
IN THIS EPISODE:
• Building a world-class hospitality team
• Creating a genuine sense of belonging
• Why kindness is a powerful company value
• The relationship between people, culture and profit
• How leaders stay connected to employees and customers
• Building trust through consistency
• Attracting 1,500 members before opening
• Why The Roof Gardens does very little traditional marketing
• Protecting company culture during growth
• Giving employees freedom without losing direction
• Why micromanagement holds people back
• Creating an exceptional customer experience
• Turning negative experiences around
• Building loyalty and retaining great people
• The future of private members’ clubs
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Preview
02:07 Welcome to Makers Workshop
03:08 Sue Walter’s unconventional leadership journey
06:48 How leaders influence company culture
11:13 Why people and profit are connected
15:07 Reinventing an iconic London venue
21:56 Protecting culture as a business grows
28:30 Kindness as a non-negotiable company value
34:36 Why people are searching for belonging
41:26 How The Roof Gardens attracted 1,500 members
45:21 Building a community without traditional marketing
49:25 Emotional connection and brand loyalty
54:42 Recruiting and empowering exceptional people
58:13 Why confident leaders avoid micromanagement
64:03 How employee retention shapes customer experience
68:34 Creating hospitality that makes people feel seen
73:37 Can a strong culture be recreated elsewhere?
77:01 How consistency builds trust
81:11 Balancing openness with professional boundaries
84:20 What people should take into their next role
86:49 Will the flamingos return?
New episodes every Tuesday.
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