An expert that has astute design methods and an eye that goes far beyond the ordinary, Susan Manrao’s broad range of experience and ability to approach projects with both artful invention and business minded practicality truly makes her a modern-day Renaissance woman.
A Pacific Northwest creative professional, Susan brings more than two decades of design expertise and mastery of concept development to clients, with a focus on creating signature environments. During her 13 year tenure in the New York creative industry, Manrao excelled at leading the development of experiential brand initiatives and event concepts implemented across the globe.
As a proponent for emerging artists and innovation, Manrao has sought as far and wide as 22 countries to curate an expansive library of international design resources. Her signature approach has influenced over 148 hotel properties world wide—including luxury and lifestyle brands like W Hotels, St. Regis, Waldorf Astoria and Mercedes-Benz—and has resulted in awe-inspired reactions from clients and press alike. Susan is best known for creating self-coined “indie luxury” environments— eclectic spaces that embody a nontraditional approach to luxury with avant garde art installations and the modern exquisite.
Always interested in design and the arts, Susan Manrao honed her creative skill set across the disciplines of graphic design, hospitality and interior design. In 2004, she oversaw the creative direction of the W Hotel brand, which led to her being awarded leadership of the St. Regis & Luxury Collection brands in 2007. Susan returned to her native California in 2008 as the Global Head of Design for Hilton Hotels Worldwide Luxury & Lifestyle division. In 2013 she launched her concept showroom Creative Registry in West Hollywood, a love letter to her obsession with curating the “unusual and undiscovered”. An avid photographer whose work has been exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art, she has an appreciation of artful design and anything visually arresting. Susan’s work and expertise has been featured in major national media outlets such as the New York Times, LA Times, Huffington Post, USA Today and WWD.
Biographical Note:
Susan began working in hotels at an early age helping her parents run their family business of boutique hotels in Silicon Valley. The only thing she wasn’t allowed to do was the design, because her father loved doing that part himself. Perhaps it’s no surprise then, that Susan went on to design luxury hotels for some of the world’s best known brands such as W Hotels, St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria.
