John Ortner

John is an accomplished hospitality professional with 35 years experience. He has led world-class hotel and consulting groups with commercial distinction. He is founder of Manhattan Group and First Contact Executive Hospitality.

Honing his management experience, he worked for premium hospitality leaders such as US-based Four Seasons, Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, Switzerland's' Les Bergues, London's Savoy Group and the world-famous Peninsula Group in Hong Kong as well as Australia's Hayman. Leading operational teams, large and small, he implemented service excellence and led them to premium hospitality best-in-class levels.

In response to industry demand, John founded Manhattan Group in 2001 to consult the recruitment needs of Hospitality. Through thousands of successful global recruitment assignments, we are recognised as the leader in specialised support recruitment for hotel, leisure and tourism industries.

In 2007, he co-founded First Contact. It excels in executive hospitality services for blue-chip corporations, institutional headquarters, and service-centric companies in key gateway cities. In his leadership role, John oversees business strategy, policy and financial management.

A rugby tragic, John is active in community volunteering and mentors the junior program of Harlequin Rugby Club in Melbourne.

John holds a PhD in Business Administration from Swinburne University and a MBA from Monash University. He has contributed to several lead articles on management theory and thought leadership.

John can be reached at:

T: +61 3 9005-4931 (UTC +10hours) E: [email protected]