“Staying True to You:” Creating Legendary Experiences by Celebrating Individuality

Care, Comfort, Style, Flavor and Fun may be the Five Pillars of the Kimpton Hotels guest experience, but those same qualities exist in the employee experience as well.  Join Great Place to Work® for a conversation with Leslie Lerude, Vice President of People & Culture at Kimpton Hotel & Restaurants, and learn what makes Kimpton Hotels stand out both as a workplace and a brand.

Being a part of Kimpton Hotels means “staying true to you.” Learn how inviting and embracing diversity in the broadest sense of the word, hiring for caring, willingness to smile, the ability to be a team player, and developing employees as people and professionals, enables this unique company to create legendary experiences for customers while celebrating the individuality of every team member.

Leslie Lerude, Vice President, People & Culture

Leslie Lerude, Vice President, People and Culture, is the department head of Kimpton’s People and Culture National Team.

Leslie originally joined the company as part of the culinary team at Scala’s Bistro and Harry Denton’s Starlight Room in 1995, in San Francisco. She also held management positions at Café Espresso and Ponzu and Panzano Ristorante in Denver, Colorado. 

Lerude left Kimpton in 2000 to work as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Global Gourmet Catering, but soon missed working for Kimpton. In 2003 she returned to the Kimpton family as Employee Relations Manager based out of the Kimpton Home Office in San Francisco. Over the last several years with Kimpton Leslie has held several roles in HR and currently is integrally involved in all areas of Human Resources including employee relations, training and development, compensation and benefits, recruitment and employee programs.   

Lerude receives gratification from her job through focus on instilling the Kimpton culture in a variety of nationwide employee programs such as the Kimpton Mentor Program, Kimpton Cares Initiatives, Diversity and Inclusion Programs and National Housekeeping Appreciation Celebrations.

Lerude graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. She currently resides in San Francisco with her husband, Dan.