About
Built on decades of international hospitality experience
Suas Advisors was founded to bring senior-level strategic expertise directly to hospitality businesses — without the overhead of a large consultancy.
Our founder
A career built inside the industry
Suas Advisors is led by Ellen Kearney, a hospitality professional with over 25 years of experience working across some of the world's leading hotel brands and management companies. Ellen's career spans operational roles, global strategy, brand management, loyalty programmes and business performance — giving a rounded, practical perspective that few consultants can offer.
The foundation was built in hotel operations in Cork and the Middle East, before progressing into senior global roles with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where over 18 years were spent across guest programmes, property support, global brand management and hotel performance.
That was followed by a period with Marriott International and Design Hotels, holding director and senior director positions across global brand management, loyalty, commercial strategy, business operations and — most recently — strategy, planning and integration at Chief of Staff level.
This breadth of experience — from front-line operations to boardroom strategy — is what Suas Advisors brings to every client engagement.
Credentials
Formally qualified, practically grounded
Hospitality Administration & Management
Degree-level qualification from Munster Technological University, Cork — providing the academic foundation underpinning all advisory work.
Lean Six Sigma
Certified in Lean Six Sigma methodology, including Green Belt and Yellow Belt Trainer qualifications, with additional Six Sigma credentials from ASQ and SHRW.
Harvard Business School Executive Education
Programmes completed in Project Management, Leading & Motivating, Keeping Teams on Target, and Hiring & Retaining Talent.
Performance & People
Certified in Performance Management, Team Building (Everything DiSC), Behavioural Interviewing and Recruitment, Selection & Induction Processes.
Our approach
No reports that gather dust
Every engagement is hands-on. We work directly with the people running the business — owners, general managers, department heads — to understand what is really happening and to deliver recommendations that are practical, commercially realistic and immediately actionable. The measure of success is not the quality of the document we produce, but the improvement in your business.
Work with us
If you are looking for an advisor who has done the work, understands the pressures and can help you move forward, we would welcome a conversation.