'The business of hospitality is not for the weak-hearted': Bhupender Nath

How do you usually start your workday?

On a normal day, I spend around an hour in the morning exercising either in the gym, or jogging with my sons. Since I work across various time zones, mornings are fairly slow, allowing me to spend time with family. Work actually commences around 10.30 am, when I close all actionable communication parked in my inbox. This is followed by taking stock of business, meeting various department heads to clear any backlogs or advise actionable points for smooth operations. In the middle of all this, there are various meetings with stakeholders and prospective clients.

Describe your work in a sentence

The foundation on which we set up our organisation, and gave it its name, defines my work: Passion.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

Hospitality is all about people and that is what forms the backbone of our industry - be it our guests or the teams who relentlessly work 24 hours every single day to ensure there is no compromise on excellence. This is propelled by the fact that I am a people's person and truly enjoy extending the finest hospitality to everyone I meet.

What advice would you give your younger self, if you could?

I would tell him to do it all again and not forget to innovate along the way. The business of hospitality is not for the weak-hearted and it's not about glamour; it is built and sustained with passion. Don't let the passion die!

What has been your most challenging experience to date and how did you resolve it?

There was a time when my family lost everything and we were in debt. That is when I had to stand up, take responsibility and take career-altering decisions to be able to support my family back home in India. I realised then: when faced with difficult situations in life, we are able to take brave decisions without thinking twice about "what if?" and instead say "why not?" while ensuring we work smart and hard.

I dream of building Passion to be a benchmark in the restaurant industry - not just within the Middle East but all over the world. for it to be counted among the top hospitality names, globally.

• WKND