C. Hope Eccles
President | Goldener Hirsch Inn
As president of the Goldener Hirsch, you transformed a 20-room inn into the country’s top-rated resort hotel according to Travel and Leisure. What leadership principles guided this transformation, and how do you balance luxury hospitality with authentic Utah character?
I don’t think there’s any balancing necessary between hospitality and Utah character. Utah hospitality is our openness, our connection to the outdoors, wanting people to feel comfortable, having an opportunity to share all that we have, and building memories with families.
You need accountability because that makes everyone know that what they’re doing matters. You treat people the way you want to be treated, whether that’s a guest or your housekeeper. Every single one of your employees needs to be valued; we couldn’t do it without them. Because, at some point in time, everybody’s working for somebody or somebody’s working for them.
Another thing is finding good partners who share your vision and values. You’ve got to work with people you trust and share values with. You always get better results when you have more ideas in circulation.
Your career spans business leadership, philanthropy and education policy. How do these different sectors inform each other in your work, and what common challenges have you observed across these fields in Utah?
It’s actually really hard to give away money effectively. My participation in business, philanthropy, and education has always been more than just about money — it’s about the time and the expertise that you’re sharing.
One of the greatest strengths in philanthropy is organizations that work with and listen to the communities. Having that community leadership makes so many projects so much better because you’re meeting their needs, not telling them what you think their needs are.
At the end of the day, somebody has to make a decision because when you collaborate, you can have lots of good ideas, and somebody has to choose one eventually. I do think that an important part of leadership is the ability to make decisions and then be responsible for them.
Having served on the University of Utah Board of Trustees, Utah Board of Higher Education, and now chairing the Salt Lake Chamber’s Utah Rising Higher Education Committee, what do you see as the most critical priorities for higher education in Utah?
We believe in the transformative nature of education and that it gives opportunity and choice. In order to see what fits the students, their family, their goals and their time in life, we need everything from a short-term certificate that you received for your first welding job to the PhDs at universities.
One of our goals at Utah Rising is for all third graders to read at their grade level. They say that you learn to read up until third grade, then after that, you read to learn — if you’re not reading by then, every year, you’re falling further behind. We have to attack at all levels because you don’t want to let any of these kids get lost.
Through your leadership roles with the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation and other family foundations, you’ve helped shape philanthropy in Utah. What philanthropic initiatives or approaches do you believe have created the most meaningful impact for the state?
We just announced the West Valley Hospital, for which the George Eccles Foundation committed $75 million. It’s the biggest gift they’ve ever given.
The gifts with a big impact don’t necessarily have enormous dollar figures. We’ve got a range of gifts: scholarships, parks, the rodeo in Ogden, the Shakespeare Festival, etc. Because we’re a part of the community and because we care about it, it’s more than just giving the dollars. The other really important thing is sharing human resources, such as our time and expertise. We serve on boards because we think that we can add something to the conversation that can make that organization stronger.
Everybody can give and everybody should. So many of these organizations are started by people that are so committed to it. Everyone should find ways to give back that resonate with themselves.
