Russell Durnell

Name: Russell Durnell

Age: 38

Job title: Director of sales and marketing

Location: W hotel, Sydney, Australia

First job in hospitality: Durnell's parents were publicans and his first job was stocking the shelves with bottled beer and soft drinks at the Red Lion in Whitehall, Bristol, aged just seven years.

Route from there to current job: Brought up in his parent's pub in Bristol, Durnell went to university to study for a degree in English, Theatre Studies and Communications before setting off for a three-month holiday in Australia. After deciding it was "the best country in the world" he started working at the Sheraton Noosa Resort, a resort in Noosa, on the south-east coast of Queensland as a bar person and was promoted to assistant maitre'd in 1989. To learn more about the hotel side of things he trained in reservations, night audit and front office. In 1990 he moved to Brisbane and got a job in the cocktail bar of the Sheraton Brisbane Hotel & Towers. From here he progressed to the supervisor of the hotel's theme pub, Someplace Else, in 1991.

This experience then led to a further promotion within the hotel to the manager of Beer and Buns, the hotel's public bar and bakery.

Durnell's self-described worst job ever was his next promotion within the Sheraton Brisbane to catering account executive in 1992. It was his first desk job in the industry and he spent most of his time answering phones and co-ordinating events such as weddings, product releases, gala dinners, corporate meetings, conferences. Very quickly he decided that the job wasn't right for him.

By 1994 he decided to try sales and found a natural flair. For the next two years he was the sales manager representing all the ITT Sheraton Hotels in Asia-Pacific.

In 1996 he was headhunted to be director of sales at the Heritage Brisbane, which belonged to marketing consortium Leading Hotels of the World. Then, in 1999, he rejoined Starwood to launch the W hotel in Sydney, a new brand to Australia.

Main responsibilities: As director of sales & marketing Durnell is responsible for marketing the hotel. This includes making decisions on rooms pricing, distribution, positioning , public relations, advertising, events and business generation. In addition Russell hopes to work on developing the W brand in the Asia-Pacific region.

What attributes do you need to be a director of sales and marketing? "Well you don't have to be a Rhodes scholar. You have to really want to do it. My Dad always told me ‘It's not a job, it's a way of life' and it is so true. I believe with anything you do, do it properly and have passion."

What's your next move? "I guess it would be to join a corporate office in development and marketing."

What's your ultimate career goal? "Eventually, I want a place of my own, like the 10-bedroom Rae's at Wategoes in Byron Bay, Australia."