JEROME AUVITY: The Hotel Industry and Global Values

This episode constitutes the Season One Finale of my talk show, the last episode we shot before I flew back to Los Angeles. It also constitutes a bridge to Season Two of GEHAN COORAY'S MEETING OF THE MINDS, coming up in two weeks, where practically all my guests will be "international", now that I have returned to the U.S. Today's guest, Monsieur Jerome Auvity, is of course a quintessentially international and global individual. He is the Director of Operations at Jetwing Hotels, which is one of my family companies, and is a Frenchman (replete with an irresistibly charming French accent as you will hear when you watch today's episode on Daily Mirror's YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms). Despite growing up in France, Jerome has lived in no less than ten countries over the course of his life, most notably managing hotels that belonged to the globally redoubtable Hilton chain, in places as diverse as Sydney, Vietnam, and Korea. His wife Phoebe is from Taiwan originally (although her French is as authentic as her English), and Jerome proudly describes themselves as GLOBAL CITIZENS, considering the breadth and scope of their life experiences across the planet.

Global Citizenship is a concept that I myself have thoroughly related to since I was a child, over the course of my own extensive travels, and although the United States of America is now my official home, I speak British English as many of you know, and begin today's episode by talking to Jerome IN FRENCH. One can never really be a well-rounded person without immersing oneself in an entire panoply of cultures, and the study of multiple different languages as well. I expressed to Jerome how grateful I am that Jetwing has individuals like him in our company, to prevent it from falling victim to a parochial mindset. It may be a family company, but family is not limited to biology, as many ignorant people believe, and we discuss the concept of non-biological Family at length on today's show. Those who have a narrow, "local" mentality tend to equate Family with their parents, siblings and nearest kin alone, whereas enlightened people who have an expansive, "global" mentality are able to establish Familial Ties with a much wider representation of the Human race. Indeed, I consider Jerome as much a part of the family, through Jetwing, as anyone else, although we have so much more in common besides our association with the Hospitality industry.

For starters, both Jerome and I have parents who divorced and remarried. We had a very candid conversation about this on today's episode. "There is always drama" at least in the early stages, as Jerome says, when it comes to a child coming to terms with Stepfathers and Stepmothers, but once you get past those challenges and difficulties, the ultimate, long-term result is INDESCRIBABLY REWARDING, as we discovered. In fact, Jerome agreed with me that we are both LUCKIER than people who come from very traditional families, because we have a MULTIPLICITY OF PARENTS in our lives, and not just two. This has exposed us to many different perspectives, ideologies and points-of-view from a very tender age, which a child growing up in a typical two parent household won't typically receive. Also, even though we have experienced TURBULENT AND TUMULTUOUS times over the course of getting to know our respective Step-parents and Step-families, I wholeheartedly stand by Jerome's affirmation that all this has fortified our CHARACTER, and made us infinitely stronger people, mentally speaking! In other words, the emotional adversity we experienced as children proved to be CHARACTER BUILDING, and has MOLDED OUR MINDS in ways that made us vastly more equipped to deal with life's challenges as adults.

By contrast, children who have been spared such adversity while growing up do not emerge with comparably resilient minds, and are far more likely to crumble psychologically when life deals them a blow as adults. By not having one single father to look up to as a role model, both Jerome and myself were also able to chart our own paths in life, and identify who we truly are as INDIVIDUAL MEN - prioritizing what is important and valuable to us and to our well-being PERSONALLY, rather than feeling pressured or compelled to merely follow in our biological fathers' footsteps as so many young men do (at the expense of their own, inner fulfilment).

Jerome and I have become exceedingly close to our Stepfathers, for example, and will consider it as much a loss when they pass away one day as we would when our own biological parents pass away. Our stepfathers have taught and shown us alternate ways of thinking and being, and thus empowered us to be who we ourselves want to be. It is sad that in Sri Lanka especially, many fathers make their sons feel like they will not be valued, respected, or given a place in their father's hearts, unless they do exactly as their father expects them to, even when they are fully grown men. This is a trend that has been established among wealthy and successful families in countries like America too. As I have said even before, many parents, and fathers in particular, expect their children, and sons in particular, to be a "Mini-Me", restricting and stunting their growth, rather than encourage them to expand their horizons and become open-minded, free-willed, "Global Citizens". Jerome has taken the opposite approach with his children - giving them total freedom not only when it comes to their career trajectories, but also when it comes to picking their partners. He proudly declared on my show that he has not fettered them by way of Race, Ethnicity, Religion, or Sexual Orientation, as long as they feel as compatible with their partners as Jerome himself does with his wife. Many children do not have that same freedom, unfortunately, and so I would like to draw a spotlight on Jerome Auvity as a shining example of what a FATHER should be, in addition to being a shining example of what a HOTELIER should be. I have seen how equally he treats every single person at Jetwing Hotels, from the bartenders through the hotel managers all the way to my mother the Chairperson. He never tries to lord it over anyone and is never patronizing on the one hand, while also never being a sycophant or a "suck-up" on the other hand. He is always one hundred percent GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC, which are the ultimate "Global Values" at the end of the day.

I have only scratched the surface of today's episode via this article, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the Season One Finale of my talk show, in addition to finding many golden nuggets of wisdom therein. This will also be the last episode that was filmed in person. All Season Two episodes will be recorded via Zoom, and I will introduce you to some of our upcoming guests next Saturday, starting with one of the distinguished Jurors of the world famous GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS, who was one of the biggest supporters of my feature film 'The Billionaire' (in which I also sang in French, incidentally). A special treat at the end of today's episode is a rendition of the immortal French song "La Vie En Rose" sung by Jerome and me - straight from our hearts to yours.