Name: Gillian Fletcher
Job title: Head of estates and creative at Form Property
Why I got into the property industry: After nearly two decades in luxury hospitality, I was headhunted to join Form Property. At the time, Form’s managing director, Rob Yates, wanted someone with strong experience in hospitality operations and customer experience to bring the company’s people-centred ethos to the public realm elements of its managed assets. He saw the transferable skills I could bring to the property sector, and from our first meeting I knew it was the right career move. I now work across some of Manchester’s leading destinations, including Spinningfields and St John’s.
My first proper job: Cabin crew for British Airways – although I worked short-haul routes, and the most ‘glamorous’ overnight stop I ever had was the Isle of Man! My dream was to become an airline pilot, so I joined British Airways cabin crew to get my foot in the door – something many aspiring pilots do. Unfortunately, after receiving medical advice, I learned I would not be able to fly passengers commercially. I then moved into a new career, drawing on my degree in hospitality and travel and the experience I had gained working in hotels as a student.
My first big break: A promotion within a Cheshire-based hotel to lead the entire food and beverage function across a large, luxury hotel where events and food and beverage revenue exceeded revenue from rooms. At the time it made me one of the youngest people (I was just 23 years old) in a role of that scale and quality within the UK. Off the back of this, I was offered an amazing opportunity to move to Dubai and work with Jumeirah and Alfred Dunhill to open a new restaurant and bar in Dubai’s financial district. This kicked off an amazing six years living in Dubai.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: At the age of 31 I moved to a remote part of East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo to manage a small boutique luxury hotel. Relocating to a remote location and surrounded by rainforest was a shock compared to the sprawling metropolis of Dubai, and a much harder challenge than I could ever have anticipated. I stayed there for five years and managed to adapt to the challenges of the environment quite successfully. I now look back on the time very fondly (minus the many unwanted encounters with numerous snakes, scorpions and large lizards).
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Delivering the Oasis Live ’25 pop-up store at Spinningfields as part of our Summer of Music campaign is a standout moment for me. It perfectly captured how we see placemaking differently at Form. For us, it’s about so much more than managing space – it’s about creating experiences that feel culturally relevant, commercially impactful and genuinely memorable and the response from the community was incredible. Being part of something that also celebrated Manchester’s proud music heritage made it especially meaningful. Our placemaking team is proudly made up of people from diverse, non-traditional backgrounds, and I think that fresh perspective has a real impact when it comes to delivering creative activations and events.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: Despite many changes for the better in recent years, I would love the property industry to be portrayed as more of an approachable career path for women than it is currently. It’s no secret the industry remains male-dominated, and conferences can still feel like a sea of navy blazers and quarter-zips – something that can be intimidating for women looking to break into the sector. At Form 60% of our team are female and 50% of those are in leadership roles. However, that is sadly not the case across the wider industry and it often feels women continue to be underrepresented
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: My grandparents. I was born in Budapest to an Hungarian mother and British father. I spent every school holiday when I was growing up in Hungary with my mum’s family. Each day revolved around food and drink in some way. I miss my grandma’s cooking and my grandad’s enjoyment of her cooking a lot. Although they are sadly no longer alive, I would love the opportunity to have one more time around a dinner table with them.
What I do in my downtime: I love to travel and spend as much of my downtime as possible travelling, or else researching the next trip. I am an avid scuba diver so book diving trips as often as possible. I am also a huge foodie and married to a chef, so I spend a little too much time enjoying good food and drink!
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: Living on a beach in South East Asia with a full-time job working for a dog rescue organisation.
My motto/mantra: Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. My first ever manager when I was working in hotels said this to me; it stuck with me from day one and I have lived by it every day since.
