Donald Morrison is Vice President Food & Beverage Europe, UK & Ireland, Hilton Hotels Corporation
Based in London, Morrison is in charge of driving Hilton’s food and beverage delivery at over 150 hotels across more than 30 countries in the UK, Ireland and continental Europe. He is responsible for all aspects of Hilton’s food and beverage strategy, from introducing new restaurant concepts and maintaining brand standards to driving F&B revenue and quality across the portfolio. He is also involved in providing strategic input on a range of F&B issues across all of Hilton’s international regions.
From fine dining and Michelin starred restaurants at the company’s Conrad, Waldorf Astoria Collection and Hilton brands, to limited service offerings of Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton By Hilton, Donald is instrumental in successfully launching F&B concepts across a diverse portfolio of brands. With the company’s growth strategy aimed at expanding Hilton’s Family of Hotels in key existing markets, such as Germany, Italy, UK and Spain, as well as in new countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Morrison’s current focus is on addressing the F&B challenges that this rollout presents.
Morrison’s major achievements with Hilton include the launch of Hilton’s global breakfast concept, which recently became a standard across a portfolio of over 500 Hilton hotels worldwide. Donald has been responsible for launching a number of successful restaurant partnerships with high profile chefs, including Gordon Ramsay’s Verre and Maze restaurants at Hilton Dubai Creek and Hilton Prague Old Town respectively. Donald was also instrumental in bringing the well renowned chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin to The London Hilton On Park Lane with their award winning Galvin At Windows.
Morrison, a 21 year veteran with Hilton, has nearly 40 years experience within the hospitality industry. Heavily influenced by his father who worked in hotels and his mother’s cooking, Donald began his career as a chef after leaving school at the age of 15. He trained with British Transport Hotels and secured chef positions at a number of leading Scottish hotels including Rannoch Lodge in Inverness and The Newton Hotel in Nairn. Following his success in the kitchen Donald has enjoyed a number of senior positions at Stakis and Ladbroke Hotels, where he was appointed Director of F&B for the UK estate in 1987.