Kyricos & Associates
PHOTO: KYRICOS & ASSOCIATES
Mia Kyricos What’s been your career highlight?
Being named the first global head of wellbeing of a Fortune 1,000 company – focusing on both the commercial and colleague divisions – was a gamechanger for hospitality and big business at large. That was for Hyatt, a US$5 billion (€4.6 billion, £3.9 billion) publicly-traded company and it gave me a front-row seat to what’s possible when a CEO truly prioritises wellbeing as part of a company’s purpose. It further enabled me to legitimise this business of wellness, champion my own very successful advisory business and prove that the world needs more chief wellness and wellbeing officers to achieve business objectives and to make the world a better place. What are your hopes for spas in the future?
If the world were to ever shut down again, I’d like to see spa and wellness centres deemed “essential businesses”. In other words, by 2050, I certainly expect them to take their rightful place at the heart of preventative and restorative medicine.
What’s holding it back?
We need to reconsider our compensation model in the US to fully grow. While not easy, we ideally need to offer appropriate salaries and benefits to therapists because caring for people through physical touch is a huge responsibility that should be valued accordingly. ■ Read more: www.spabusiness.com/miakyricos
BIRTHDAY MESSAGE Spa Business has been a pioneer in educational journalism for our industry. Not only has it shown up for us industry insiders but it’s championed a business that few originally understood and that is now globally recognised. Thank you for telling our stories and advocating for our work
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We need to reconsider our compensation model in the US to fully grow
Kyricos expects spas to take their rightful place at the heart of preventative and restorative medicine
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spabusiness.com issue 3 2023 67