Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: Peter Lederer, Gleneagles Hotels
Overall ranking: 55 (ranked 38 in 2010)
Hotel ranking: 11 (ranked 13 in 2010)
Having joined Gleneagles in Auchterarder, Perthshire in 1984 as general manager, Peter Lederer was appointed managing director in 1987 and became chairman in November 2007. The hotel has won more than 40 awards in the past 15 years. It's an AA Top 200 hotel with five red stars and a two-Michelin-starred, four-AA-rosette restaurant run by Andrew Fairlie. Lederer is also a major player in Scottish tourism and hospitality training and has won many awards over the years.
Peter Lederer - Career guide
Peter Lederer, who was born in London in 1950, was educated at City of London School followed by a four-year hotel and catering management course at Hendon College, London and an Advanced Management Programme at Insead (1994). He lived in Canada for much of his early career, where he filled operational, administrative and senior management roles in Ottawa and Montreal with the Four Seasons hotel group and Plaza Hotels in Toronto. He was also a partner for two years in a hospitality consulting group. He joined Gleneagles as general manager in 1984, when it was owned by Peter Tyrie and was promoted to managing director in 1987.
Peter Lederer - What we think
Most recently it was named as Favourite UK resort hotel by Sunday Times Travel Magazine reader awards (2011), while Conde Nast Traveller named it Best UK Hotel for Leisure facilities (2011). The spa has received many accolades recently and it has also scooped several environmental awards including the sustainable business of the year award from Catering in Scotland Excellence Awards (2010).
Gleneagles is now widely recognised as a leader in the hospitality industry for service, training, marketing and innovation. The hotel has been owned by Diageo plc since 1985.
Most recently Lederer oversaw an £18m refurbishment programme that included the launch of an £8m destination spa, a Mediterranean-style restaurant - Deseo, a refurbished top floor "suite product" and a "zone" created for small children and teenagers. It was named Hotel of the Year at the AA Hospitality Awards for 2009-10.
But beyond the hotel is arguably where Lederer has had the most influence, having held some of the most high profile roles in Scottish hospitality and becoming an international champion of the industry.
He was chairman of VisitScotland from 2001 - 2010 and remains a board member of The Leading Hotels of the World and chairman of Hamilton & Inches and the Saltire Foundation. He has long been a campaigner for improving standards in hospitality education and training and also holds numerous roles in this field, including chairman of the International Leadership School, Scotland, president of the Institute of Hospitality (formerly HCIMA), president of Enable, a patron of the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland and chairman, One & All Foundation.
He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and University of Stirling. In addition, Peter is a Master Innholder and Freeman of the City of London, as well as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Innholders.
In 1993 he won the Tourism Catey and in 1997 was honoured as Hotelier of the Year. In her 1994 Birthday Honours List, the Queen appointed him an OBE for his services to the industry, followed by the honour of CBE in 2005.
In April 2011, he became chairman of the International Leadership School in Scotland, a post-graduate programme based at Strathclyde Business School. He aims to help provide the "missing bit" to rejuvenate Scottish tourism, which has stalled in recent years. The move follows his criticisms of unrealistic targets set by government to expand the industry. He said at the time, "This is borne out of how do we make a step change in Scottish tourism, to raise everybody's game. If you want to grow that industry, and having spent a lot of time doing it at VisitScotland, this is the missing bit. Government support is quite good but they can't do anything about it."
Peter Lederer's ranking in the 2010 Caterersearch.com 100 >>
Peter Lederer opposes "unrealistic" government targets >>
Charity launched to improve diversity in hospitality >>
Gleneagles to invest £2.8m in new Mediterranean retaurant >>
