In line with the strong growth of EHL Advisory Services, the EHL Group company specializing in hospitality consulting, the Board of Directors has been strengthened by two new members and appoints Mr Michel Rochat as Chairman.
Christian Simm, CEO of swissnex, and Marcus Bernhardt, member of the Executive Committee of Europcar International, have joined the Board of Directors of EHL Advisory Services in order to contribute, through their extensive international experience, to the company’s strong growth phase.
In August 2017, Christian Simm joined swissnex Boston as the new CEO. Prior to that, he spent twenty years in San Francisco, where he launched various initiatives to promote high-level exchanges between Switzerland and North America in the fields of research, education and innovation. Under his leadership and thanks to partnerships in the private and public sectors, he created and led swissnex San Francisco to become a spectacular ecosystem of innovation for more than 65 people in an iconic location.
Marcus Bernhardt has extensive experience in the hospitality industry, having held the positions of COO and Senior Vice President of Rezidor SAS Hospitality, managing 140 Radisson SAS, Park Inn, and Country Inns & Suites branded hotels and 40 hotel projects. He then joined the airline industry as Executive Vice President and Chief Services Officer for Gulf Air Bahrain (UAE) and was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Gulf Hotel Group in Bahrain, finally joining Europcar in 2013.
EHL Group is delighted with the integration of these two international forces into the board of one of its three entities, which will enable it to support the development and international dissemination of its Swiss education model, as well as its expertise in the hospitality sector.
Michel Rochat, CEO of EHL Group and now Chairman of the Board of Directors of EHL Advisory Services will have the opportunity to maximize synergies between the Group’s entities. The aim will be to strengthen links with industry players, share research and innovation with members of the Group’s international network, and further contribute to improving professional standards in hospitality professions in countries with growing tourism. “I welcome Christian and Marcus, who do us the honour of serving on our Board of Directors. Our Group is in full swing and one of the keys to this success is the wealth of talent and leaders we are able to surround ourselves with,” said Michel Rochat. 2
About EHL Group
EHL Group encompasses a portfolio of specialized business units that deliver hospitality management education and innovation worldwide. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Group includes:
EHL Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Lausanne is an ambassador for traditional Swiss hospitality and has been a pioneer in hospitality education since 1893 with over 25,000 alumni worldwide and over 120 nationalities. EHL is the world’s first hospitality management school that provides undergraduate and graduate programs at its campuses in Lausanne and Chur-Passugg, as well as online learning solutions. The School is ranked n°1 by QS World University Rankings by subject and CEOWorld Magazine, and its gastronomic restaurant is the world’s only educational establishment to hold a Michelin Star.
EHL Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality (Chur-Passugg) has been one of the leading hospitality management schools for hotel specialists for 50 years. The school delivers Swissaccredited professional training and higher education in its newly renovated 19th century spa-hotel in Chur-Passugg, Graubünden, to Swiss and international students from 20 countries.
EHL Advisory Services is the largest Swiss hospitality advisory company with expertise in the development of educational models and quality assurance for learning centers, as well as strategic and operational advisory for businesses, namely providing benchmark service culture implementation to companies within the hospitality sector and beyond. EHL Advisory Services has offices in Lausanne, Beijing, Shanghai and New Delhi and has delivered mandates in more than 60 countries over the past 40 years.
