Hilton has promoted Rory Jackson to Director, Corporate HR, recognising more than 15 years of progressive contribution to the group’s people function. Jackson, who is based in London and operates from Hilton’s European headquarters in Watford, steps into the directorial role from his previous position as Senior Manager, Corporate HR – marking a significant milestone in a career built almost entirely within the hospitality giant.
Jackson joined Hilton at the property level, beginning his first shift at Hilton Bracknell at a time when, by his own account, he was uncertain whether hospitality was his long-term path. That early ambivalence has given way to a career that has spanned more than a decade and a half, traversing the company’s operational and corporate environments and building deep institutional knowledge of Hilton’s people infrastructure. Prior to joining Hilton, he held roles at St Peter’s Harrow and The Church of England, bringing cross-sector experience that has informed his subsequent work in a corporate HR context.
In his various HR roles, Jackson developed a particular focus on processes, systems and technology – disciplines that are increasingly central to modern HR practice as organisations seek to align workforce management with digital transformation. He has also distinguished himself as an internal voice on professional development, advocating for transferable skills over narrowly defined career planning and encouraging team members to build adaptability as businesses evolve.
The Watford office, where Jackson is based, serves as Hilton’s regional hub for European operations and is home to more than 600 team members. It is from this base that Hilton coordinates much of its EMEA HR strategy – a function that sits within a wider global people organisation overseen by Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Laura Fuentes. The corporate HR team plays a meaningful role in operationalising Hilton’s employer brand, which has earned notable recognition in recent years.
In 2024, Hilton was ranked the number-one hospitality employer on the World’s Best Workplaces list by Great Place to Work and Fortune – the eighth consecutive year the company claimed the top hospitality position. The group has also reported an employee engagement rate of 93% and a turnover rate approximately half the industry average, outcomes that speak to the effectiveness of its people strategy. Corporate HR functions such as the one Jackson now leads are central to sustaining this performance across a network spanning more than 120 countries and 20 brands.
Hilton continues to operate at scale, with a global development pipeline exceeding 500,000 rooms and a targeted net unit growth rate of six to seven per cent annually. Sustaining this growth demands a people function capable of attracting, developing and retaining talent at pace – a task that falls, in part, on those managing HR at the corporate level.
Jackson’s promotion is an internal recognition of the kind of long-tenure, operationally grounded HR leadership that Hilton has consistently valued. Having progressed from a property-level role to a senior managerial position and now to director level over 15 years, his trajectory reflects the internal mobility Hilton actively promotes as a pillar of its talent philosophy.
