Jenna Hackett, SVP, Hilton on Building Lifestyle Brands and the Mentor Who Changed Her Career

From Capitol Hill and human resources to the helm of global lifestyle brands, Jenna Hackett’s career is what happens when you say yes to open doors and walk through them with intention. Now Senior Vice President and Global Leader of Lifestyle Brand Management at Hilton, she oversees the strategy, performance, and growth of Canopy, Curio Collection, Tapestry Collection, Outset Collection, Motto, and Graduate, shaping some of the company’s most culturally relevant and fast-growing brands.

Since joining Hilton in 2011, Hackett has built her career through a series of bold pivots and accelerating roles. She was part of the team that helped prepare Hilton for its IPO through executive compensation, then made the leap into brand building, where she helped launch both Curio and Tapestry Collections and define what collection brands even mean inside the world’s largest hotel company. Along the way, one relationship proved pivotal. A senior leader saw her potential, took a chance on her, and brought her into brand leadership. That mentor was Dianna Vaughan, currently serving as Senior Vice President, Global Owner Relations at Hilton. In this conversation, Hackett is just as clear about the responsibility of being a great mentee as she is about the power of having an advocate. Their partnership shaped the trajectory of her rise.

With a background that includes working for both a U.S. Senator and a Member of Parliament in London, plus an MBA and a real estate credential from Harvard, Hackett brings political fluency, financial discipline, and strategic brand instinct to every role she takes on. She has since gone on to lead multiple lifestyle brands at once and, on a personal note, recently added newly married to her growing list of life milestones.

It was a joy to sit down with Jenna at ILTM Cannes and talk candidly about negotiating your worth, the power of true mentorship, learning from missteps, and why diversity of thought remains one of the most underutilized leadership advantages in hospitality today.

You did not start your career in hospitality at all. How did this journey really begin?

It was not planned. I came into Hilton through executive compensation. Before that, I was in politics. I worked on Capitol Hill, off the Hill, for a think tank, and in policy. When Hilton was private and preparing for its IPO, I joined to help build the executive compensation function and get the company public-ready.

After we went public, I thought I would go do something completely different. Then I met Dianna Vaughan. She had been in brand marketing and commercial for years at Hilton and had moved into HR to help rebuild our mission and values as we transitioned into being a public company. She was about to launch Curio Collection and told me not to leave, to come with her. She took a real chance on me, and that completely changed the direction of my career.

We built Curio together. Then I helped build the Tapestry Collection. Then our collection brands became what is now our lifestyle organization. What kept me here is the culture. Hospitality feels like a family. You are giving people experiences. The people and the mission are what made me fall in love with it.

You spent years in executive compensation. What did that teach you about negotiating, especially for women?

You have to advocate for yourself. You have to ask.

When we were preparing for the IPO, I spent a lot of time benchmarking executive roles and understanding which functions truly drive revenue. I saw what people asked for in negotiations and how comfortable some were pushing for more. What stood out to me was that women are incredible at advocating for their teams and their companies, but when it comes to ourselves, we hesitate. We worry about asking for too much.

But if you accept an offer that does not make you feel valued, even if it is just a few thousand dollars, it can change how you feel about the role from day one. From a leadership perspective, it is also incredibly important that people come in feeling whole and valued. When people know you are advocating for them, they show up differently.

Negotiation is about coming from a position of strength. We do not always do that when it is about ourselves.

Why do you think women struggle with negotiating their own worth?

Part of it is pleasing. We are grateful, and we want to show that gratitude. We also do not talk about ourselves very easily, so it suddenly feels uncomfortable to say, here is my value and here is what I need.

Sometimes you almost have to disassociate and think of yourself as the product, the same way you would approach any other negotiation. That does not mean the first offer is bad. Sometimes it really is a great offer. But if it does not align with your values or expectations, you have to be willing to say something.

Your relationship with Dianna Vaughan comes up repeatedly in your story. What made that mentorship work?

She was both a mentor and an advocate, and those are very different things. Dianna truly changed the direction of my career. She took a chance on me when she did not have to. She brought me into brand leadership. She opened doors for me and advocated for me at levels I could not access on my own at that point in my career. That kind of belief changes everything.

As the mentee, I took that responsibility seriously. I worked incredibly hard. I wanted to earn her trust. I wanted to make her successful because I knew she was investing in me. When we worked together closely, I was focused on doing great work and being a strong extension of her vision. That was how I showed up in the relationship.

Even now, we are in different parts of the organization, but we still talk four or five times a week. She is still one of my closest sounding boards. I will call her and say, this happened, what do I do, how should I think about this. And she helps me work through it. Everybody needs someone they can shut the door with and think out loud, and she has been that person for me for a long time.

What is your advice for being a great mentee, not just finding a mentor?

People talk a lot about finding mentors, but not enough about being a good mentee.

You should take the opportunity seriously. Work hard. Be reliable. Be present. Learn how they think. Learn how they lead. Show that you value what they are giving you. That is how trust is built.

Do you have that kind of support from other women leaders at Hilton now?

Yes, and it has been incredibly powerful. Dianna was one of the first female brand leaders at Hilton, which was amazing to witness. Today, we have several women brand leaders, and we get together multiple times a year. We also have a group text. We genuinely support each other. It makes a difference to know you are not doing it alone.

What advice do you give people early in their careers?

Say yes to the stretch projects. Lean in. Be a sponge.

The projects that look glamorous later almost never feel glamorous while you are doing them. They are tactical. They are messy. They take long hours and a lot of hard work behind the scenes. But once they are successful, everyone wants to be part of that story. The hard projects are where the real growth happens.

You do not have to be relentlessly positive all the time, but energy matters. You want people who want to be there.

Jenna with Emily Goldfischer at ILTM

How do you personally handle failure or mistakes?

Women tend to be very hard on ourselves. We’ll get feedback and carry it with us for weeks, whereas men reportedly walk down the hall and forget it.

For me, it is about taking a beat and asking, what could I have done differently next time. Was it alignment, communication, or stakeholder management. Then you take the lesson and move on. It is a lesson, not a label.

You built your career in corporate, not on property. How does that shape your leadership style?

It makes diversity of thought essential on my team. I do not have operations, revenue management, or front-of-house experience. I need people around me who do. Strategists need operators. That mix makes us stronger.

At the end of the day, when we talk about women in leadership, it is really about diversity of perspective. When leadership all looks the same, you miss opportunities.

What would you tell your younger self at the beginning of all this?

Trust yourself. You will figure it out.

Early in your career, everything feels urgent. What is next, where is this going, am I making the right move. You do not have to have it all mapped out. You will figure it out as you go.

Quickfire with Jenna

What is your morning routine? I am a morning person! I get up at 4am, have coffee, and read as a ritual. Then I workout and aim to get in the office about 7am. It is my time for me – the rest of the day takes a life of its own. 

What do you do for self-care? Huge into working out for my mind and focus on getting enough sleep (which can be hard with travel). 

One recent personal milestone that deserves a smile... I got married this summer but with schedules (the Fall is busy!) we waited to take our honeymoon. We are finally going over New Years.

The best leadership advice you’ve ever received? Lead with positive intent, be the change you want to see, listen first, and be a shock absorber for all levels (those below, peers, and above)

A book or podcast that you are into right now Two podcasts: Life of a CEO and Acquired.

Your favorite travel hack? I am big into packing cubes! The more organized I can be for a long trip, the better. 

Your go-to room service order? French fries! I love them. 

What success looks like for you right now... Balancing all parts of life. Working and building relationships with intent and not just feeling busy.