From Sydney's pubs to the luxury resorts of Mexico, Old Ignatians are creating places where people come together. In this edition of our Industry Focus, Kim Maloney (OR73), Nick Wills (OR88), Carl Emberson (OR80) and Peter DeAngelis (OR92) share their experiences of an industry built on people, service and an ever-evolving guest experience. 

With warmth, humour and a few memorable stories, they reflect on the challenges of hospitality, the friendships and values carried from Riverview, and the satisfaction of making others feel welcome. We also ask who they would most like to share a meal with - and their dinner order would be!

Kim Maloney (OR73)

1. Tell us a bit about your current role and the area of hospitality you work in. 

As a fourth-generation hotelier, having inherited a love of pubs from my father, I started with a hotel in Balmain in my earlier years. Now we are located in the heart of the Sydney CBD, as well as Bondi Beach and even Surfers Paradise. 

I am also currently the Vice President of the AHA NSW. I really couldn't think of a better industry to be involved in. 

As a co-founding member and current Chairman of the Hotels Have Hearts Charity Committee, along with a cohort of passionate Sydney publicans, we have raised over $8 million for the St Vincent de Paul Society. This is very much a team effort, made possible by the generosity of the entire hotel industry. 

2. What do you find most interesting or challenging about working in this field right now?

The most exciting thing about the industry has always been to see the smile on the customer's face. Just knowing you are doing it right and the customers will keep coming back. 

3. How has the profession evolved since you started your career? Are there any trends you are watching closely?

Year on year, there is a push towards good food, and excellent service is always a must. Renovations help keep your venue modern and inviting, and being a multifaceted establishment with offerings of food and beverages, a bottle shop, accommodation and entertainment keeps us all evolving. 

4. How did your time at Riverview shape your career or outlook?

My time at Riverview coincided with many publican families sending their sons to Riverview. That common bond of being descendants of Irish Catholic hoteliers with a Jesuit education helped instil in me a love for the industry and a desire to always look out for people who are less fortunate than myself. My education had a profound impact on me in this regard. 

5. If you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be, what would you order - and why?

I would choose to have dinner with Conrad Hilton. From an early age, I read his autobiography, Be My Guest, which was found in Hilton Hotels around the world. I still have my copy on my bedside table today. My dinner order with Conrad would have to be a Texan T-bone steak, of course. 

Kim Maloney (OR73) Maloney Hotels https://www.maloneyhotels.com.au

Nick Wills (OR88)

1. Tell us a bit about your current role and the area of hospitality you work in

I'm currently the CEO of Tilley & Wills Hotels. We own a number of hotels and a beach resort, and we also operate hotels on behalf of third parties, including hotels that have ended up in receivership or administration - generally when things have gone a little pear-shaped. 

Our core business, however, is still pubs. We love the pub business because, at its best, it's really about people, food, drink and creating places where people want to spend time. And, of course, it's an industry where drinking professionally can occasionally be described as "research". 

2. What do you find most interesting or challenging about working in this field right now?

The hotel and pub industry is very different from most businesses because our workplaces generally operate seven days and nights a week. There really isn't a natural "switch-off" time. That can become more challenging as you get older, particularly when you have a family. I'm very lucky to have a fantastic wife who keeps the home front ticking over while I spend a rather unhealthy amount of time working nights and weekends. 

It used to be that the only day most pubs would close was Christmas Day. Even that is changing, as more people seem to prefer going out for Christmas lunch rather than spending the day cooking and washing dishes. I was once involved with a group of hotels that included the Bourbon and Beefsteak in Kings Cross. Most people remember walking in, but not necessarily leaving. It traded 24/7, and in our first year we decided to close it on Christmas Day for the first time ever so we could give the place a much-needed clean. It wasn't until we got to closing time that we realised the pub didn't actually have a front door. That was a reasonably important oversight. 

3. How has the profession evolved since you started your career? Are there any trends you are watching closely?

I'm incredibly lucky because I genuinely love what I do. Having said that, running a hospitality business is certainly getting harder. Everything costs more - wages, food, utilities, insurance and pretty much anything else you can think of. At the same time, you have to work harder to get people through the door and convince them to spend money when they are generally becoming more health conscious and drinking less. 

The industry is also having to navigate a much more complex employment environment. There are considerably more rules, regulations and processes than when I started, which can sometimes make straightforward conversations and accountability more difficult. But ultimately, hospitality is still about people. You can have the best building, the best technology and the best marketing in the world, but if you don't have great people who genuinely care about looking after customers, you're in trouble. 

4. How did your time at Riverview shape your career or outlook?

I absolutely loved my time at Riverview. I'm not sure there was a direct correlation between Riverview and my eventual career in hospitality, although I suppose there were probably a few early warning signs. Riverview helped me get into university, and it was while I was at university that I started working in bars to help pay my way through. I quickly discovered that I enjoyed the hospitality industry - probably a little too much - and one thing led to another. 

Looking back, I think Riverview taught me a lot about friendships, competition, resilience and, importantly, how to get yourself out of trouble when you probably shouldn't have been there in the first place. 

5. If you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be, what would you order - and why?

I'd have to say Hugh Hefner. I'd obviously be interested in his views on business and building a global brand from virtually nothing. I'd order my favourite crumbed cutlets, mash, greens and Diane gravy. 

Nick Wills (OR88, Moore House), Tilley & Wills https://tilleyandwills.com

Carl Emberson (OR80)

1. Tell us a bit about your current role and the area of hospitality you work in. 

I've run operations and marketing for Punta Mita Resort in Mexico for over 10 years - a Four Seasons, St. Regis, two Jack Nicklaus courses, five beach clubs, over 700 luxury homes, and two more hotels, Montage and Pendry, opening in 2028. 

The role is like being mayor of a destination - community-building, marketing, PR, events, charity and member relations. Before this, I was General Manager of five-star hotels including Park Hyatt and St. Regis across Latin America. 

I began my career in Australia and worked and studied in Europe, while also owning restaurants in Argentina and Uruguay. 

2. What do you find most interesting or challenging about working in this field right now?

Guests today are more sophisticated and informed than ever, and expectations have never been higher. AI gives us extraordinary tools to personalise the experience, but the risk is letting luxury feel automated or transactional. 

The more digital the world becomes, the more genuine human connection matters. My focus is using technology to work smarter while keeping the experience human. That's the future of luxury hospitality. 

3. How has the profession evolved since you started your career? Are there any trends you are watching closely?

The tools of hospitality have changed dramatically; its essence hasn't. 

When I began in the '80s, we ran on service, instinct and personal relationships - no smartphones, no data, no reviews. Technology has transformed how we operate, but what guests value has shifted: less about things, more about experiences. 

Trends come and go. Technology will change, the product will evolve and expectations will continue to rise, but exceptional people who genuinely care about the guest will remain our greatest luxury. In that sense, hospitality is timeless. 

4. How did your time at Riverview shape your career or outlook?

Being from Fiji, I boarded at Riverview, which taught me camaraderie, independence and looking after one another - my fellow boarders became family. 

My Jesuit education gave me lasting principles: being a man for others, serving rather than being served. Rugby was as great a teacher - earning trust, leading by example, and reading the game: staying aware of what's happening ten metres away, not just the ball in front of you. That's exactly what separates a great hotelier from a good one. 

Hospitality is a team sport in exactly the same way - the win belongs to everyone. 

5. If you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be, what would you order - and why?

I'd love to have dined with Anthony Bourdain. He proved the best meal might be at a plastic table on a street corner, not a Michelin restaurant - food is a doorway into place, culture and people. He wasn't chasing the world's greatest dishes; he was chasing the world's greatest experiences. I'd order rib eye tacos with a chilli sauce - he'd have loved that too. 

Carl Emberson (OR80)

Punta Mita | Personal blog | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Peter DeAngelis (OR92)

1. Tell us a bit about your current role and the area of hospitality you work in

I am involved in running our DHI Hotels portfolio. That includes dealing with staff on an operational level, banks, councils and regulatory compliance. 

2. What do you find most interesting or challenging about working in this field right now?

What is most interesting is how dynamic the hospitality industry is in NSW, particularly Sydney and, more particularly, out west where we are focused. The level of venue presentation, service and, particularly, the food offering is crucial and getting more impressive. 

I enjoy seeing what others in our industry who we compete with are doing, taking from that and trying to improve on it. The goal is to continue innovating and improving, particularly because our competition is becoming far more astute and customers are becoming far more particular and discerning. If you cannot provide something special or different, well then, quite simply, they will go somewhere else. 

This increasingly sophisticated market on both sides of the ledger drives and inspires me to do something better with architecture, finishes, staffing, food and beverage - the whole package. It's either sink or swim in our game now. 

Challenges are compliance and potential legislative changes that could greatly impact our model. Having said that, these changes are imminent, but we have adapted to changes before and I am confident that we will continue to do so in the future. 

3. How has the profession evolved since you started your career? Are there any trends you are watching closely?

Great question. The industry has just become far more professional. 

The advent of social media has allowed us to better understand our customers and patrons, refine our ability to give them what they want and ultimately provide them with a better experience. 

In terms of trends, I firmly believe the design and fit-out of a venue is paramount. The "bar" is getting higher. I am so proud of the quality of venues that exist in Sydney and the west, particularly new builds on greenfield sites. The level of detail and design is something we should all be proud of in the industry. We have arrived at this point because our generation is spending such large sums of money trying to create something "more" special than the next guy down the road. This elevated playing field has, for mine, been the driving force for these super pubs out west. Take a drive and have a look! It's worth the experience. I am proud of the industry and its participants for creating that environment, and of what we have achieved as an industry. 

4. How did your time at Riverview shape your career or outlook?

Our family, and particularly my dad, really embraced the Jesuit philosophy: "quantum potes tantum aude". He drummed it into us. I watched the last rugby game of the season against Newington with my son, who starts Year 5 next year, and the effort those boys put in won them the game on the bell. It was the best game of schoolboy rugby I have ever seen. They won because they dared themselves. I have never been prouder as an old boy. Those final five minutes embodied everything the Jesuits stand for. Daring rugby and a desired outcome. That's what I was taught in pursuing my career. Riverview is a great school. I still have a very close group of mates I see regularly. 

5. If you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be, what would you order - and why?

Stanley Kubrick. I love film and he is my favourite director. Total genius. I would order a rib-eye on the bone with mash and vegies! 

Peter DeAngelis (OR92, Southwell House)