Jese Medina Suarez
Jese MEDINA SUAREZ
Creative Director, Principal, EMEA Campbell House
Jese is Creative Director & Principal at Campbell House for the EMEA region. He has developed an expertise in hospitality and food + beverage design, but his experience stretches across multiple sectors such as aviation, residential, retail and workplace projects.
Over the last 15 years, Jese has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Singapore and Melbourne, where he has designed projects in all five inhabited continents and has explored the blurred boundaries between the hospitality world and other design sectors. He has worked for several high-profile clients and brands such as Four Seasons, St Regis, W, Jumeirah, British Airways and Hakkasan to name a few. He has worldwide experience across all aspects of interior projects, from concept design to final construction.
His distinctive approach hinges on his expertise on the meaning of brand in architecture and interiors, bringing brand strategy and powerful storytelling to the very core of the design process for every project.
WHAT MAKES YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING?
In short, life itself. We are clueless as how fortunate most of us are. I love the creative process, whether this is referred to my job, my next breakfast recipe, what I’m going to wear, or what experiences I want to have next. Despite it’s true we cannot control many things in our lives, still there’s a great deal we get to choose daily, which means that to a degree, we are the designers of our lives.
IN A FEW WORDS, WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY/VISION OF THE FUTURE?
It’s difficult to answer, because I think it will depend heavily on whether covid will be a problem with a clear end within the next year, or it becomes a chronic problem we will live with for decades. If it has an early end, I envisage a ‘roaring twenties’ effect on the hospitality sector, with millions of people trying to catch up with what’s been lost during the pandemic and a strong return to former patterns of conduct. On the other hand though, if the current health problems persist, then we will see the birth of a new type of trends in the industry, where travelling will find new ways to adapt to the upcoming reality and needs.
WHAT HAS 2020 TAUGHT YOU?
I guess that 2020 was an excellent teacher, because you know what they say: “You don’t realise what you have until it’s gone”. Losing the ability to travel, to experience life far from home, to spend time with friends and our loved ones, has made clear that we need to treasure those moments when available. It’s not a given anymore, and therefore it’s become ‘luxury’. We will still value opulent interiors and exquisite service, but we know now that there is more to a luxurious experience than that.
YOUR NEXT BIG CHALLENGE?
At Campbell House, we have just delivered our first restaurant in Bodrum for the Hakkasan Group, and our partnership with them is just about to deliver many other venues coming up in the next 12 months. On top of the multiple F&B projects we are working on in US, Europe and the Middle East, we are working on completing our first 5-star property in the Gulf, which will in turn become our first completed hotel since Campbell House was founded earlier this year. These projects are our next most important challenge, and our top priority for us since these will establish our positioning in the market and in the eyes of our future clients.
WHAT IDEAS / EXPERIENCES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOUR PEERS?
Work with people you can look up to and you feel happy working with. I’ve been lucky enough to work on quite an abundant number of firms, in diverse and amazing cities like London, Paris, Milan, Melbourne and Singapore. You learn from exposing yourself to different companies, clients, and cultures, but in the end, you need to work with people you can build something up for the long run. My experience this year building Campbell House from scratch with Beth Campbell and my other colleagues have been really rewarding. We have the opportunity to tailor our services for the new reality we live in, and we have allowed ourselves to focus on design and people. This experience has definitely been one of the highlights of my career so far.
Discover also Jese MEDINA SUAREZ’s contribution to the second episode of the eh! TALK
“How to create a hotel brand with a strong DNA?”
