Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Christopher Auteberry

Christopher Auteberry is an experienced Learning and Development leader with a strong background in hospitality. Currently serving as the Global Director of Commercial Learning and Development at Hyatt, he leads strategy across functions like sales, marketing, and revenue. His work focuses on building agile learning teams and tech-enabled learning systems that support talent growth across Hyatt’s global portfolio.

In an interview with Manage HR, Christopher shared insights on the evolution of Learning and Development in hospitality, the thoughtful use of AI and the future of workforce enablement.

A Career Rooted in Hospitality

I have nearly two decades of experience in Learning and Development within the hospitality industry, leading initiatives for restaurant groups, startups and now at Hyatt.

For the past two and a half years, I’ve been responsible for Hyatt’s Global Commercial Learning strategy, supporting sales, revenue, marketing, loyalty and distribution functions. My focus spans three pillars: content creation and facilitation, leadership development and technology integration in our programs. I’m passionate about building experiences that meet learners where they are, embedded within their daily work.

Targeted Growth through Strategic Learning

Upskilling across a global, diverse workforce isn’t simple. One of the biggest challenges we face is balancing scalability with personalization. Every learner has different needs, and a one-size-fits-all program won’t deliver meaningful results.

At the same time, there’s increasing pressure to use AI in everything, which can become performative if not grounded in real impact. Our goal is to design targeted learning that supports everyone’s unique growth path rather than relying on broad solutions designed by role alone.

Applying AI with Purpose

At Hyatt, we use AI to analyze our programs, surface gaps and compare our efforts against broader industry trends. This helps us identify opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed. We also use AI to accelerate content development, using it as a tool to build a foundational structure that we then refine with subject matter experts. This process enables us to work with agility and shorten development cycles. By teaching the basics of AI in our certification programs, we help people learn how to use it for performance optimization and skill development in their teams.

Programs with Real-World Impact

Our recent initiatives have had a measurable impact on team engagement and commercial performance. The Hyatt + NYU Digital Marketing Foundations course has upskilled hundreds of Hyatt colleagues. Our Commercial Leadership Certification program, in partnership with DePaul University Executive Education program, is designed to develop mid-level talent and support succession planning.

We’ve also developed a proprietary sales training program, which has improved quota attainment, relationship-building and confidence among sales teams. These programs have meaningfully strengthened our commercial performance and reinforced our core values.

The Future of Learning in Hospitality

I believe the future of learning will be more self-directed, embedded and socially driven. Traditional, structured pathways are becoming outdated. Instead, learners will be guided toward the skills they need with on-demand access to resources that support them. We will see more learning in the flow of work and a greater use of peer coaching and mentorship.

AI will play a key role in content delivery and other aspects of talent development, but human connection will always remain essential, especially for developing soft skills like communication, collaboration and emotional intelligence.

Advice for the Next Generation

Professionals aiming to make a career in this space must challenge themselves to listen and to learn. In the initial six months of my role, I dedicated my time to listening, engaging with stakeholders, visiting properties to learn the needs of my audience and studying core systems. This helped me develop a data-informed strategy. It’s important not to rush into solutions; take the time to listen, identify pain points and determine how your work can address real needs.