Mr Ramon Pajares, OBE (b. 1935) rose to prominence as a leading luxury hotelier, occupying the role of Regional Vice President for Four Seasons Europe, and serving a celebrated tenure as Managing Director of the Savoy Group.

Ramon was born in Spain and aged 16 began his career in the hotel industry at the Ritz in Barcelona. Throughout the 1960s, he worked variously in the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland, always in hotels at the high end of the market. He developed a strong fluency in multiple languages, and acquired business experience that served him well when he enrolled at the Hotel School at the Institute of Hotel and Tourism Studies in Madrid — completing a three year course in half the time. When the Four Seasons Hotel opened in London in 1970, Ramon joined as Executive Assistant Manager and Food and Beverage Manager. By 1975 he was General Manager of the Four Seasons in London and in 1986 became Regional Vice-President.

It was in 1994 that Ramon took on the mantle of Managing Director of the Savoy Group, a role he occupied while overseeing the restoration of five top UK hotels – The Savoy, Claridge’s, the Berkeley, Connaught and the Lygon Arms – at a total cost of £90m. The outcome was recognised as a huge success throughout the industry, and re-established the Savoy Group as the world’s leading luxury hotel company. Upon retiring in 1999, Ramon continued to participate voluntarily in helping organisations make general improvements across the industry.

Ramon is a member of the Master Innholders, the Institute of Hospitality, the Board of Governors of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, and Chairman of the Savoy Educational Trust. He was awarded the OBE in 1999 and was honoured by the Hall of Fame in 2000.