Manager of the Year
Sponsored by Dudson Group
Christopher Cowdray
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When a hotel is a national icon and has been showered with awards, it's easy sometimes to overlook the leadership that got it Ð and kept it Ð there. And it's certainly the case that in six years at the helm of one of London's most famous hotels, the 2004 Manager of the Year has steered the property to a raft of award recognition.
When Christopher Cowdray took over as general manager of Claridge's in 1998, its past had been glorious, but it was beginning to fray - both metaphorically and physically - around the edges.
By the time he left just two months ago to take up a new challenge at the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>