Stephen Thorley - In loving Memory.

The world has lost a great ambassador for our industry: a giant of a man who was gentle, kind and generous, with a wonderful sense of fun and a remarkable insight into the hospitality profession.

I had the privilege of knowing Stephen personally for twenty-five years and of working alongside him at Global Search International for the past sixteen. We shared so much laughter and enjoyment as we helped candidates and clients discover one another, building relationships and changing careers along the way. Stephen cared deeply about people and brought warmth, experience and sound judgement to everything he did.

Stephen was one of my great candidates who finally through a recommendation joined the team in a leading role. My old Boss said to me, what about Stephen and it was a no brainer, he took to recruitment like a duck to water.

Stephen’s own career was truly international. Beginning in hospitality in Switzerland and Germany, he went on to work with leading hotels, resorts and cruise operations across the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Jordan, Thailand and the Middle East. His career encompassed senior food and beverage leadership, hotel operations and international resort consultancy, including feasibility studies and the development of new hotels and resorts. Wherever he worked, Stephen was recognised as a hands-on leader who treated people fairly, encouraged them to shine and always remained focused on creating exceptional experiences for guests.

Stephens breadth of knowledge, international experience and understanding of people made him an exceptional hospitality professional and, later, an insightful and highly respected recruitment consultant. I remember we use to sit in the same office and talk for hours about many of the great people and companies that we worked with. Global Search International, and the wider hospitality community, are richer for everything he contributed and immeasurably poorer for his passing.

Stephen’s sister Joanne, her partner Andrew, his niece Lucy, and his nephews Tom and Aaron are very much in our thoughts today and will be deeply missed, but remembered with enormous affection, gratitude and many happy memories. Until we meet again, sweet dreams, good night and god bless.