Maria Sigrid Lleva
Maria Sigrid Lleva is a Filipino-American global hospitality, aviation, and tourism professional currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up in the Philippines, where she was introduced early to the idea of aviation and service excellence, inspired by her mother’s belief that becoming a flight attendant represented a glamorous and world-expanding career. Initially uncertain about her academic path after university, she pursued Hospitality Management, driven by her passion for cooking and her early perception of the hotel industry as a refined and dynamic world. She graduated with distinction and quickly distinguished herself as a student leader, actively involved in organizing symposiums, career talks, and editorial features through her college’s Hotel and Restaurant Management Society, laying the foundation for a lifelong commitment to leadership, service, and community building.
Her professional journey began in luxury hospitality with the InterContinental, where she started as a front office agent before progressing to night auditor to deepen her understanding of financial operations within rooms division. She went on to join the Mandarin Oriental in Manila, the first of its brand outside Hong Kong, serving as a Club Executive Concierge in a supervisory capacity, managing VIP guests and overseeing high-touch club lounge operations. During this period, she also completed flight attendant exposure training with Philippine Airlines, further solidifying her aspiration to pursue aviation. Drawn to Dubai during its rapid global rise, she successfully entered one of the world’s most prestigious hospitality environments at the Burj Al Arab, where she became a Royal Villas Supervisor at age 23. There, she served ultra-high-net-worth guests, including royalty and global celebrities, while also supporting executive operations for a large-scale luxury team, gaining early exposure to private aviation clientele and elite service expectations.
Her career evolved into aviation when she joined Emirates Airlines after multiple application attempts during a highly competitive selection process. Starting during the Credit Crunch period, she progressed from economy to first-class service, operating across multiple aircraft including the Boeing 777, Airbus A340 series, and A380. She trained junior crew in cabin operations, galley management, and first-class service delivery at 40,000 feet while traveling extensively across diverse global routes, including high-risk and culturally complex regions. This experience strengthened her discipline, adaptability, and self-leadership. Eventually, after holding multiple residencies across the Philippines, Dubai, and the United States, she chose to build her life in the U.S., where she continued advancing in luxury hospitality leadership roles. She managed large-scale resort and luxury hotel operations, including The Newbury Boston, where she contributed to elevating Forbes audit performance and strengthening service culture, before transitioning into her current role as Head of Customer Services at Jet Aviation. In this position, she leads customer experience strategy in private aviation, focusing on employee engagement, operational excellence, and service transformation, guided by a consistent philosophy that empowered and valued teams create exceptional client experiences.
• University of California, Berkeley -
Health and Wellness, General
• Emirates Aviation University -
Arline Safety and Emergency Procedures
• Certificate, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies
• Arianna Huffington on Redefining Success: Thriving at Work and in Life
• Project Management Simplified
• Certified Zumba Instructor
• Civil Aviation
• Angeles University Foundation - BS, Hotel and Restaurant Management
• Hotel and Restaurant Management Society
• Bonsai Team
• Honor Society, College of Business Administration, AUF
• Hotel and Restaurant Management Junior Society
• Trade Wings College Paper
• Walton Highschool Girls Basketball Team Fundraising Event
What do you attribute your success to?
I think I'm most proud of my journey in the States. It's not easy, but I came here to become someone. You know when the journey is not easy, this is when you learn. I may have not learned some attitude improvement as well if I didn't live here. Here in the States, I learned how to choose my attitude. It built my resilience muscle stronger. And moving here to the States made me realize what truly matters in our lives. It's not my title. Yeah, because you can be a director, a CEO, but if you're not happy, you know, it doesn't really matter. What's important is you're doing what you're doing, you're aligned to what you're doing, and if promotion comes, it will come, because I want to be in a space where I am right now. Right now I'm happy with being the head of customer services for Jet Aviation. And so far, I'm not thinking of seeking for higher heights, not because I don't believe I deserve it, but you want your internal peace too, because in corporate, as you know, there's a lot. Before I was driven, I was like, I want to be a director, I want to be this, I want to be that. But you need to know the company you're working for first, that's number one, and the culture. So those are the things that truly matter to me. We must be happy where we are.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For me, self-discipline. Because you got to be on time all the time. You can't be late for your flight. Self-discipline in terms of your health, especially if you're flying across different time zones. You need to watch your health in order to last long in this field if you're flying. For me, I was forced to be a gym junkie because, first of all, Emirates didn't want us to gain weight. And going, exercising and movement is the greatest medicine. It regulates your hormones, especially if you're flying across time zones from east to west at different times. So that keeps you young, that keeps your young energy, that keeps you happy when serving your clients, that gives you clarity regardless of what you're experiencing, troubles up at 40,000 feet. I really didn't feel scared at all. It did not panic me because we were trained not to. Emirates said that you signed up for this job, and these are the possibilities. Also, taking care of your posture is very important because it's a lot of physical job on the aircraft as well, especially when you're managing the kitchen. It's not about client baggage, it's about the galley if you're flying international. Here in the States, even if you do cross-country, it's not much service, as compared if you go international, then you do have breakfast, lunch, dinner, like full service. So here in the States they do back-to-back flights but they only serve soda and peanuts or snacks, as compared to having a fine dining experience at 40,000 feet. Time management as well.