Acorns 2018: Catherine St John, executive assistant, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London

Executive assistant, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London

Nominator Jo Dowell, director of HR

Proudest moment "Being awarded the merit scholarship and member of the Dean's List at Simon Business School, New York, from a cohort of competitive, academic peers."

Biggest inspiration "My general manager, Anne Legrand, who defines the power of women in business and has gained respect within the senior leadership team. I admire her fairness with her teams, her passion for guests and this industry, combined with her role as a mother."

Ambition "To manage a luxury, ecological boutique hotel with a triple bottom line known as the 3Ps: people, planet and profits."

Catherine St John's career was on the right trajectory from the start. At 23, she co-ordinated the US roll-out of Novotel's visual identity and received the regional Cousu Main award for exceptional service in F&B at Sofitel Miami.

Since joining St Pancras in 2015, shehas continued to notch up remarkable results. As events supervisor, she achieved the highest upsell and client survey remarks, surpassing the hotel's Intent to Recommend metric (80.6%) and budget (£4.2m) by 0.3% and 8.5% respectively.

She also volunteered for departmental financial responsibilities and championedthe launch of new apps. Indeed, her desire for self-development stands out. She was one of the handful of entry-level employees who made it onto the Marriott International Essential Skills training and is a candidate for the 2018 Master Innholders Aspiring Leaders Diploma.

Unsurprisingly, last August she was made executive assistant, for which her numerous tasks include overseeing audits, quality assurance, VIPs, customer care, budget analysis, staff wellness and community engagement.

St John is a member of the Business Council and Junior Business Council's communication pillar, and she also directs her energy into mentoring those in hospitality careers. As well as this, she has raised money for the Prince's Trust and organised Christmas lunches for 50 homeless people.