The ESSEC-IMHI MBA in Hospitality Management organized its first Hospitality Forum on April 25th, 2014, on the ESSEC Business School campus in Cergy-Pontoise. Over 180 people attended the conference, which was divided into three round tables on the theme of competencies needed for the hospitality industry in the 21st century in the following sectors: Operations; Finance & Real Estate; and Distribution & E-Commerce. In the afternoon, future IMHI graduates and other ESSEC students had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with representatives from 20 international hospitality companies.
The ESSEC-IMHI MBA in Hospitality Management organized the forum in order to bring together students and industry representatives for a better mutual understanding of the career development expectations of future hospitality industry professionals. The effort paid off; representatives from 20 hospitality companies, several of whom traveled from abroad to attend the event, came to interact with ESSEC-IMHI students.
The first round table, dedicated to Hotel Operations, brought together three hotel managers for an exchange on the new competencies needed to succeed in the industry: Christophe Laure, Area GM Paris & GM InterContinental Paris Le Grand; Flavio Bucciarelli, Area Manager France Monaco at Starwood Hotel & Resorts; and Steven Daines (IMHI 1994), recently named GM of Hotel Services for the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Switzerland, and Russia at Accor.
During the next round table on Finance & Real Estate, Christophe Harle, CEO Continental Europe JLL Hotels & Hospitality; Sym Lee, SVP Business Development & Asset Management for Ascott Limited - Citadines; and Stéphane Baghdassarian (IMHI 2001), Development Director Hotels for Lucien Barrière, debated the lessons learned from the financial crisis and the new competencies needed in this field.
In the final round table, Ariane Gorin, VP EMA Market Management for Expedia; Julien Kauffmann, VP Revenue Management & Analytics for Disneyland Paris, and Chinmai Sharma (IMHI 2003), VP Distribution & Revenue Management for Louvre Hotels Group, discussed the latest trends and needs of the fast-moving, yet critical, Distribution & E-Commerce sector.
Following the conference, ESSEC-IMHI students had the opportunity to meet individually with representatives from the following companies: Accor, Ascott, Carlson Rezidor, Disneyland Paris, Domytis, Expedia, Four Seasons, Groupe Flo, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotel Group, JLL, Kempinski, Lucien Barrière, Marriott, Micros, Sodexo, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Steigenberger.
Following its success, the ESSEC-IMHI Hospitality Forum organizers plan to continue the event in the years to come, adapting its annual theme to the latest trends in the industry and the areas of expertise of the ESSEC-IMHI MBA in Hospitality Management.
The first round table, dedicated to Hotel Operations, brought together three hotel managers for an exchange on the new competencies needed to succeed in the industry: Christophe Laure, Area GM Paris & GM InterContinental Paris Le Grand; Flavio Bucciarelli, Area Manager France Monaco at Starwood Hotel & Resorts; and Steven Daines (IMHI 1994), recently named GM of Hotel Services for the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Switzerland, and Russia at Accor.
During the next round table on Finance & Real Estate, Christophe Harle, CEO Continental Europe JLL Hotels & Hospitality; Sym Lee, SVP Business Development & Asset Management for Ascott Limited - Citadines; and Stéphane Baghdassarian (IMHI 2001), Development Director Hotels for Lucien Barrière, debated the lessons learned from the financial crisis and the new competencies needed in this field.
In the final round table, Ariane Gorin, VP EMA Market Management for Expedia; Julien Kauffmann, VP Revenue Management & Analytics for Disneyland Paris, and Chinmai Sharma (IMHI 2003), VP Distribution & Revenue Management for Louvre Hotels Group, discussed the latest trends and needs of the fast-moving, yet critical, Distribution & E-Commerce sector.
Following the conference, ESSEC-IMHI students had the opportunity to meet individually with representatives from the following companies: Accor, Ascott, Carlson Rezidor, Disneyland Paris, Domytis, Expedia, Four Seasons, Groupe Flo, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotel Group, JLL, Kempinski, Lucien Barrière, Marriott, Micros, Sodexo, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Steigenberger.
Following its success, the ESSEC-IMHI Hospitality Forum organizers plan to continue the event in the years to come, adapting its annual theme to the latest trends in the industry and the areas of expertise of the ESSEC-IMHI MBA in Hospitality Management.
