Dirk-Jan Rijks
“To Travel Is To Live” - Hans Christian Andersen. DJ’s childhood dream was to discover the world and this dream continues to be fulfilled.
DJ’s multifaceted skill set in luxury & lifestyle hospitality, talent & culture management, his multicultural leadership focus, his commitment to personal and professional development, talent cultivation, and fostering inclusive cultures makes him a sought-after person for leaders and teams looking to thrive in today's diverse and dynamic business landscape.
DJ is an accredited coach through the International Coach Federation (ICF). His Clifton Strengths expertise as well as Hogan Assessment coach further enhances his ability to guide individuals and organizations towards realizing their full potential. DJ is also certified as Emotional Intelligence coach (EQ-I version 2.0). DJ became a Search Inside
Yourself (SIY) Certified Teacher. He is a people developer & builder in every location that he worked since graduation from HHS in 1991. Through his coaching and mentoring,he has elevated countless individuals and teams to see their potential and move to the next level in their careers.
In addition, DJ conducts team bonding workshops that are designed to strengthen team cohesion, improve communication, and maximize the collective strengths of a team. He possesses wide experience in learning & development, with a progressive focus on leadership development. He has been recognized for leading successful teams, holistic in approach and always relevant in this ever-changing global environment. He is known for a culture transformation leader at Shangri-La, Accor Luxury & Lifestyle and Hyatt International with a focus on guest experience, purpose and values, driving NPS scores for the brands and high engagement levels for teams.
Having held senior positions for luxury & lifestyle brands globally, DJ prides himself to have done over 25 hotel openings in different parts of the world, like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Russia, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China, just to name a few.
He has always remained an active member of Hotel school the Hague, recruiting interns and management trainees in his hotels and participating in selection days for newstudents (Dubai and Singapore). He is one of the founding members of the HHS alumni Singapore chapter.
DJ is proud to identify himself as a global citizen having worked & lived in every continent making him a “down to earth” and culturally savvy individual. He describes himself as a positive, fun-loving person with the ability to laugh at himself at times too!