Priya Jaganathan: A Proficient Leader Pioneering Turnkey Solutions For Hospitality Sector In Abu Dhabi
Priya Jaganathan
Managing Director & Co-founder
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Priya Jaganathan takes us through her professional journey, the challenges faced as an entrepreneur and much more.
Throw some light on your professional background and experience. What inspired you to start your professional journey in the Consultancy Services domain and what drives you today as an entrepreneur?
I started my career in the Hospitality industry at the age of 17 with The Residency, Chennai. For 20 years,
I have worked at multiple properties in Chennai, Hyderabad, Maldives, Thailand and Abu Dhabi. The hospitality industry has one major objective and that is to provide excellent services to the guests, and this is what inspired me to get into the industry.
Abu Dhabi has been my second home after Chennai, as I spent major years of my career working with some amazing properties in the city. So after 20 years, I realised it was time to start a consultancy firm on my own to implement all that I
have learnt in my career. I started Auriga Management Consultants in 2014 to help guarantee the best services in the hospitality sector may it be a beauty salon, spa, food truck, restaurant or a hotel.
It has been 8 years and we are just getting started. Since we provide end-to-end services for our clients, pre-opening and post-opening, there are a lot of challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis. This is what keeps me going as an Entrepreneur.
How would you define Auriga International Management Consultants as an organisation and its position in the market?
We are a turnkey service provider. A client comes to us with a concept in mind, and then we take care of everything from there. In Abu Dhabi, we are a niche brand who are providing end-to-end services, especially in the luxury segment.
Over the years, the competition has grown especially our ex-team members who saw the potential in this segment have gone ahead and started their services. The clients that work with us appreciate our uniqueness and genuineness, and they refer us more clients. We have recently expanded to Dubai and we plan to expand to other GCC countries beginning with Saudi Arabia.
What are some of the major challenges you have encountered so far? How did you overcome them and what are your learnings from the same?
With Auriga, our major challenge is employee retention. Since we have been early in the industry, the newcomers try to poach our employees as they have been trained and have formed a deeper understanding of the industry with us. We have made sure that all our contracts with employees are legalized now.
It has been 8 years and we are just getting started. Since we provide end-to-end services for our clients, pre-opening and post-opening, there are a lot of challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis. This is what keeps me going as an Entrepreneur.
As a leader, I have always believed in walking the talk. And that is my number one advice to budding entrepreneurs in any domain
How would you define Auriga International Management Consultants as an organisation and its position in the market?
We are a turnkey service provider. A client comes to us with a concept in mind, and then we take care of everything from there. In Abu Dhabi, we are a niche brand who are providing end-to-end services, especially in the luxury segment.
Over the years, the competition has grown especially our ex-team members who saw the potential in this segment have gone ahead and started their services. The clients that work with us appreciate our uniqueness and genuineness, and they refer us more clients. We have recently expanded to Dubai and we plan to expand to other GCC countries beginning with Saudi Arabia.
What are some of the major challenges you have encountered so far? How did you overcome them and what are your learnings from the same?
With Auriga, our major challenge is employee retention. Since we have been early in the industry, the newcomers try to poach our employees as they have been trained and have formed a deeper understanding of the industry with us. We have made sure that all our contracts with employees are legalized now.
Another challenge is the ongoing fluctuation in prices, being in the f &b industry with razor cut margins, its quite thought-provoking to come up with various cost optimization initiatives etc.
How are you adapting new tools/ technologies to revolutionise your services to be at par with current industry standards?
We provide a lot of personalised services to our clients, so it involves a lot of interactions with them to understand their needs and requirements. Innovation is our priority. Hence we are constantly on the lookout for some top-notch and sophisticated tools to automate some of our operations. And adapt them into our workflow.
We use a lot of software tools for financial management, HR management, and project management to streamline these operations, and ensure timely delivery of the projects etc.
In the light of your strong industry experience, what advice would you give to the budding entrepreneurs of this domain?
As a leader, I have always believed in walking the talk. And that is my number one advice to budding entrepreneurs in any domain.
Another thing I would like to add here, it is very important to think of a win-win solution for every situation where two parties are involved. A fair approach toward business relationships enables you to create a sustainable venture.
Priya Jaganathan, Managing Director & Co-founder, Auriga International Management Consultancy
With close to 30 years of Industry experience, Priya is the leader in the hospitality sector in Abu Dhabi, with a background demonstrated by her achievements in establishing a solid and capable team that delivers customised and tailor-made solutions for the hospitality sector.
•Favorite cuisine: South Indian
•Favorite book:The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey
•Favorite Travel Destination: Maldives.
•Hobbies:Cooking, Listening to music
How are you adapting new tools/ technologies to revolutionise your services to be at par with current industry standards?
We provide a lot of personalised services to our clients, so it involves a lot of interactions with them to understand their needs and requirements. Innovation is our priority. Hence we are constantly on the lookout for some top-notch and sophisticated tools to automate some of our operations. And adapt them into our workflow.
We use a lot of software tools for financial management, HR management, and project management to streamline these operations, and ensure timely delivery of the projects etc.
In the light of your strong industry experience, what advice would you give to the budding entrepreneurs of this domain?
As a leader, I have always believed in walking the talk. And that is my number one advice to budding entrepreneurs in any domain.
Another thing I would like to add here, it is very important to think of a win-win solution for every situation where two parties are involved. A fair approach toward business relationships enables you to create a sustainable venture.
Priya Jaganathan, Managing Director & Co-founder, Auriga International Management Consultancy
With close to 30 years of Industry experience, Priya is the leader in the hospitality sector in Abu Dhabi, with a background demonstrated by her achievements in establishing a solid and capable team that delivers customised and tailor-made solutions for the hospitality sector.
•Favorite cuisine: South Indian
•Favorite book:The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey
•Favorite Travel Destination: Maldives.
•Hobbies:Cooking, Listening to music