318 - The #1 Place To Work in The World: Laura Fuentes (CHRO, Hilton)

Laura Fuentes, CHRO at Hilton, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about Hilton’s hospitality mindset, why great leaders should operate like great hosts, and how Hilton scales culture, listening, recognition, and purpose across more than 500,000 team members.----  Sponsor Links:🔗 Learn more about Beqom at beqom.com/mpl🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report🔗 Learn more about SixFiftyMPL Links:🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.----  (17:18) Behind the Scenes of the Hospitality Mindset Report(19:21) Reintroducing a More Optimistic Narrative About Work(22:05) Hilton’s Four Culture Pillars: Inclusion, Wellness, Growth and Purpose(22:34) Culture Is the Accumulation of Small Moments(24:54) Leaders Should Think Like Chief Host Officers(25:41) Moving From AI Anxiety to AI Agency(27:56) Why Nuance Does Not Scale Easily Across Global Teams(33:29) Why Leadership Is Energy Management, Not Just Time Management(39:28) Scaling the Systems and the Soul of the Company(41:49) The One Conversation That Sparked Hilton’s Crisis Concierge Program(45:10) Why Hilton’s General Managers Are the Global Leaders the World Needs Now(48:39) The Soul of Hilton: Purposeful, Hospitable, Gritty and Competitive(50:35) Giving Away One Million Room Nights to Medical Professionals(51:12) Helping Furloughed Team Members Find New Jobs During the Pandemic---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.