alumni - Essec

ALUMNI
NEWSLETTER
November 2007
Message from IMHI Alumni
In a few words let me summarize some of the things that have
happened recently at IMHI.
IMHI Alumni have a new website address: www.imhialumni.com.
The previous one www.aaimhi.com will continue to be operational.
A new logo has been launched in July and was presented during the
annual general assembly.
A scholarship fund will be launched in January in order to allow you
to fund students’ scholarships.
Over 250 alumni have become active members by paying the membership fees.
International and Parisian Get-Togethers will continue to flourish
allowing you to network and get together worldwide. As you know,
for quite some time, we have organised informal alumni GetTogethers at major industry events (WTM, ITB and Fitur) and in various locations (London, Berlin, Madrid, Dubai, Brussels, Geneva and
New York City)
With over 1100 members, the alumni association of IMHI is continuing to offer better services and to perfect its worldwide expansion.
I must thank all the alumni who during this past year have helped the
school in introducing candidates, offering internships, apprenticeships and permanent positions to current students. Thanks also to
those who have participated to selection juries, industry leaders conferences, school presentations and counselling of students and
younger alumni.
This year some of you will again assist the school during student fairs
around the world, in Europe, America and Asia.
Reunion of friends of H83 and H84 in Paris
Let’s continue to increase our membership base by joining the alumni
association for 20 euros only. Let’s get the scholarship fund started to
promote academic excellence and help applicants with financial difficulties. That’s the IMHI spirit!
Charles Lüthi H83
President IMHI Alumni
Message from IMHI
May I extend a warm welcome back to work to all alumni after what I
hope has been a relaxing summer vacation. At the end of July we at
IMHI said good bye to our first graduates on the new two year IMHI
programme and to the second class on the one year programme. The
ceremony took place on the Quai de Javel alongside the Seine and was
followed by an evening cruise and banquet. The occasion appears to
have been enjoyed by all despite the dull weather, unexpected at the
end of July in Paris.
Having now been once through the full two year cycle, we are evaluating the experience gained from the changes we have brought about.
First of all, a consultancy project has been introduced into the programme. This year’s students worked with Sheraton on a marketing
real life project. The end result was presented by the different teams
who were encouraged to think outside the box and the presentations
demonstrated that professionalism may be leavened with good
humour! The ‘best of’ will be put before the Sheraton board in New
York in September.
Students had to specialize and choose two concentrations out of Real
Estate, E-commerce, Entrepreneurship and Luxury Brands. We believe
that this forces students in a more formal way to focus on their future
professional career.
On the whole, we think that those changes have reinforced the programme in a positive way and of course time and you as employers will
tell us if we were right.
This year also saw the start of ESSEC short Hotel Executive Programme
and the first generation of students received their certificate in June
in a ceremony presided by Monsieur Gilles Pélisson, CEO of Accor.
It is September, so our attention now turns to this year’s incoming
students. Their number has increased by 13 compared with last year’s
intake. A big part of the credit for helping us to recruit good
candidates must go to you, our IMHI alumni. We can’t thank you
enough for that. Please, keep spreading the word. You are our best
sales people.
Jeanine Picard
Director (Internal Affairs)
Zooming in on IMHI Alumni
THORSTEN KIRSCHKE H93
Senior Vice President & Chief
Operating Officer,
The Rezidor Hotel group
ships like in some of the Swiss hotel schools.
To put it simply, for me it has been the best price value opportunity out
there in Europe, where globally hotel management has had its roots.
TAB. What are the most important things you learnt from your IMHI
experience? What is your best memory?
TK. Many very practical things, like financial discount and depreciation methods, statistics (oh my god!), Lotus 123 (when was that
again?) or simulation case studies. However, it is not so much the
techniques in itself as it was the principles that were important for me
to gain an understanding of the bigger picture.
Probably my best memory is remembering how we all supported each
other and helped. Early mornings and late nights. And then there were
always good nights out at the campus and in Paris. Work hard – play hard!
And then I see Estelle in your newsletter from January as a second
time mom- fantastic and all the best, Estelle!
TAB. Could you tell us a few words about your background, who you
are, your experience, your current position?
TK. I was born in Hannover, Germany. Prior to being appointed as the
Chief Operating Officer of the Rezidor Hotel Group in September 2006,
I served as the Area Vice President of Germany, Switzerland, Italy,
Austria, South-East Europe and Benelux.
In my role as the Chief Operating Officer, I am responsible for the
operational development and strategies of the company and its
brands, together with the Executive Committee.
I started my hospitality career in 1985 in Food & Beverage department
at the prestigious privately owned and operated Kastens Hotel
Luisenhof in Hannover; before going international to Switzerland and
then France. I acquired an MBA at IMHI ESSEC Business School while
working at the Grandes Etapes Françaises in Paris as a Sales &
Marketing Assistant. In 1993 I returned to Germany as the Operational
Analyst and Controller for the Renaissance Hotel Group in Frankfurt.
In 1998, I first served as the General Manager of a hotel at the
Radisson SAS Airport Hotel in Oslo. My success as a General Manager
lead me to several great places from London to Beijing and Dubai
where I took over the strategic role of serving as the Area Vice
President for the Middle East and China.
TAB. What is your advice to students and Alumni?
TK. To students I can only recommend not to give up, even when it is
tough. You are the best and very privileged to enjoy this fantastic academic circle. Think long term and be confident and patient when needed. Quality will always pay off in the end.
I wish to congratulate the Alumni for their continuous efforts and
hard work in making sure that the family sticks together. Due to my
own many years of travel I had unfortunately little time to spare but
will surely try to change that.
TAB. Why did you choose IMHI?
TK. Clearly with a long term view on the potential of my personal
career development. After I had learned the very grass roots of our
business starting off in food and beverage, moving abroad and then
continuing within rooms division, I knew that there was more out
there I needed to learn if my career was to become one of international standard.
IMHI was the perfect grounds for that as it is highly international in
itself already with a student body consisting of over 20 different
nationalities in our class of H93. It also did not include lengthy intern-
IMHI Alumni at the Radisson SAS EU Hotel, Brussels
Jobs on imhialumni.com
Jobs on www.imhialumni.com or www.aaimhi.com
Have you been on the website lately to look for jobs? You can also « post a job offer » by going to Career Services on www.aaimhi.com.
The IMHI administration is sorting out and posting on a daily basis on the AAIMHI.com website all offers that are sent directly to IMHI or
to AAIMHI.
Below is a sample of jobs that have been offered
on AAIMHI since September 07
Director Häagen Dazs store Paris Champs Élysées
Häagen Dazs
Directeur Général
Groupe Le Duff
Assistant Financial Controller
InterContinental
General Manager
Hilton
Senior Analyst Atisreal Hotels
Atisreal Hotels
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Graduation July 2007
graduation. It brought together moments in class and outside class,
on campus and off campus, at the student residence in Cergy and in
the glamorous streets of Paris. The movie was received with bits of
laughter, smiles, some tears, and an occasional sigh.
It was July 28, and to some students, Paris, the Seine and the banks
of the Seine seemed to be calling for the long awaited event: a ceremony marking the end of an era, and the beginning of another.
Thanks to the collective efforts of BDE IMHI, the graduation team
and collaboration from the rest of the class we were able to hold an
event that took place at Yachts de Paris, on the docks of the Seine
River, and was followed by a cocktail on the deck of the Paquebot
before cruising the Seine during dinner. It was a grand success!
Professor Peter O’Connor’s speech was a blend of idealism, seriousness and humor. He spoke of the contacts we have made and the end
of the IMHI journey. He talked about the importance of the alumni
association and the success of the IMHI family worldwide.
And then, our diplomas! In alphabetical order, each of our names was
called and we went up to receive our certificates. And in the background, individual slides of our names were accompanied by a photo
of us as babies. After moving our tassels from left to right we were
then declared graduates of the Class of 2007.
The ceremony opened with all 37 graduating students entering the
venue before each one of us taking our individual seats. I, on the
other hand, walked straight to the podium and began reading a poem
I initially wrote for the yearbook. The poem, called Let us
Remember, was an attempt to tell the story of a two-year journey by
saying many of the things touching each one of our experiences – the
good and the bad, the serious and the naughty – without revealing too
much.
Elie Milky H07
Consulting & Valuation Analyst
HVS International
The poem was followed by a 14-minute movie that was put together
for the graduation. It was a series of videos and photos taken from the
moment we got together in September 2005 up until the month of our
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Article
Developing the ideal
e-Distribution and
e-Marketing team
Prof. Peter O’Connor, CoDirector of IMHI, ESSEC
Business School
The hotel sales function in the hotel sector
has changed drastically over the past ten
years. In the past, we received most of our
business from the chain CRS or a few select
travel agents, and distribution was effectively the responsibility of the Front Office
Manager as a relatively minor part of his role.
Today this scenario should have changed.
Bookings from multiple electronic sources
can now make up over 40% of room nights,
but who is managing this important source of
business? Distribution has become more
complex, and hastily taken decisions can
result in the hotel effectively competing
against itself over alternative channels.
Despite this danger, the way in which most
hotel companies organise distribution has
remained static. The exception, of course, is
the introduction of yield managers at the
property, cluster and regional levels. With a
better understanding of distribution than
most, the latter are quickly finding their role
expanding as they are given responsibility for
managing anything that has to do with electronic distribution.
Having someone dedicated to distribution
and e-commerce is clearly a step forward.
However what are the skills and competencies needed by such people. In my opinion,
the person filling this role must have:
A global understanding of the distribution
environment. Given the complexity of electronic distribution channels, this person
must have a global overview of how it all fits
together. They need to understand the implications of working (or not working) with different channels; the business models used by
competing intermediaries and macro trends
in consumer booking patterns. Unfortunately
such a skill set is difficult to maintain, particularly as travel technology evolves towards
Web 2.0 and user generated content.
An implicit understanding of pricing. Such a
person must also understand how to manipulate price to maximise benefit in the long
run. Doing so has become difficult because of
the use of multiple simultaneous channels of
distribution. However being able to price
products competitively to drive bookings
towards direct channels is a critical skill.
Both a marketing and a sales orientation.
Working in the online world doesn’t change
general business principles. A key element of
success is being able to understand customers.
Only by focusing on their needs can we be successful. However working electronically offers
new opportunities to better understand customer needs. In-depth customer preference
data can be collected easily, and this can be
analysed in sophisticated ways to get a better
picture of the guest. Understanding where and
how to use such tools, and deploying the
resulting knowledge, will become even more
important in the future.
enues going straight to the bottom line. Even
if efforts only result in channel cannibalisation, the resulting cost savings are substantial and still justify the investment. Rerouting
a booking from channels such as GDS, callcentre or online merchants towards the
hotel’s own website can result in cost savings
of up to 20%. Coupling this with the potential
for increased revenue makes devoting appropriate resources to building up an effective
distribution and electronic marketing team
an easy decision.
A flair for website design. Understanding
how websites work will become increasingly
important. A key competency is the ability to
critically analyse website features and content and refine them to match customer
expectations. Currently many hotel companies fail to do this – and this is reflected in
low conversion rates. In particular our ability
to merchandise seems to be poor, perhaps
because of too much focus on price. We have
much to learn from the retail sector about
how to sell effectively on the web.
A comprehension of search. With search
becoming more important for travel, an
understanding of search engine marketing
has become essential. With their deep understanding of the customer, hotels are in a
unique position to manipulate search engines
and drive business directly. Distribution managers need to be able to monitor their competitors’ actions, design search strategies
that work and insure their effective implementation. Failing to do so will result in valuable direct business being diverted.
Embrace electronic marketing. Operating in a
web enabled world opens up a vast array of
ways to reach out to customers. From reciprocal links to banners to affiliate and viral marketing, a whole host of electronic marketing
opportunities are now available. Being able
to select amongst and manage an appropriate portfolio of such options requires a set of
competencies hereto not common in the hospitality sector.
As you can image, such a diverse range of
skills is unlikely to be found in one person.
Even if much of the specialist work is outsourced, hotel companies still need a dedicated team of people to implement an effective distribution strategy. The investment
needed to find, hire and retain appropriate
personnel in this area can be considerable,
and even more investment is needed to keep
their skills up-to-date. Perhaps the best way
to justify such investment is in terms of incremental revenues. Most hotels still have
rooms vacant each night. More effective electronic distribution undoubtedly results in
increased business, with the resulting rev4
« The Hotel Executive Program graduation took
place on June, 1 2007 in the presence of
Mr. Gilles Pélisson (CEO of Accor Group),
Prof. Paul Beals (Academic Director),
Mr. Jean Harvis (Président of Paris Honotel),
Mr. Philippe Bijaoui (Senior Vice President of
Worldwide Development Club Med),
Mr. Michel Perchet,
Prof. Michael Olsen,
Mr. Gérard Guibilato (Director of Spécialized &
Avanced Programs)
and various numbers of the IMHI team.
The next session will begin in January 2008.
For more information, please contact:
Miss Catherine Jeannin by phone:
+33 1 46 92 17 53 or by
e-mail: [email protected] »
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
CENTER
ESSEC Hotel Executive Program
Get-Togethers Worldwide
Dubai «Get-Together » May 1st 2007
New students 2007 at September 20th
Paris « Get-Together »
New York « Get-Together » September 23rd 2007
« Introduce a candidate »
Winner 2007 Eric Omgba Sida H05
Geneva « Get-Together » June 7th 2007
Bob Beck receives the ESSEC Alumni
medal in Cergy on September 17th 2007
Special award winner 2007 Osman Dogramaci H85
Internship Story
Experiencing an opening
Thiébaut OSSOLA H08
After a few months at IMHI, I was offered by Jean-Philippe
Bittencourt (IMHI ’91) the opportunity to join the preopening team of The Palace – The Old Town in Dubai for the
time of an internship, along with Miss Ivy Bian H08.
This hotel is a new property opening in September 2007,
owned by Emaar – a major developer in the Middle-East –
and managed by Sofitel. It is located at the very heart of
Dubai, in front of one of the most astonishing architectural achievement of our time: the Burj Dubai - on the course
of being the tallest tower in the world. Being part of such
an adventure is quite a challenge, since the property is
positioned as one of Dubai’s finest property – both by its
location and its expected level of service – in a city of
unequalled concentration of 5 star hotels.
I had the chance to do my internship in the marketing
department of the hotel, under the management of Ayesha
Qureshi (Cornell H05), and to work on the actual building of
the hotel’s “brand” and image – be it through advertising, PR
relations, design of all communication material, etc.
As a support department of all the other departments of the
hotel, it is also extremely interesting to see how each aspect of
the hotel is “coming to life”, each manager working in its own
way, facing its own challenges, faithfully preparing the big
opening day in spite of difficulties and – sometimes – doubts.
But one of the most enriching part of this internship was to
deal with the extreme cultural diversity of the team – which
is quite a common thing in Dubai – and to learn how to collaborate efficiently with people from all over the planet,
from Brazil to Lebanon, from Pakistan to Croatia, from
Australia to Germany…
As our industry is about dealing with complexity and diversity, being in a place as dynamic and cosmopolitan as Dubai
provided me with a unique learning opportunity and made
this internship a fantastic experience.
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Professional news…
January 2007
Emmanuel VALLEE H01 was Director
of Sales EMOA based in Paris. Since
January 1st 2007 he has become the
Director of Sales for emerging countries in charge of Russia, Ukraine,
Baltic states, Eastern Europe, China,
India, Middle East for Accor (Sofitel,
Novotel, Mercure and Ibis).
Emmanuel VALLEE H01
Accor International Sales
Director Sales Emerging Countries
News from Alumni
Philippe Josse H94 Directeur régional
Haagen Dazs, devient directeur des
opérations réseau HD boutiques.
Alain Flipo H94. Maguina RAMILO
Flipo H94
J’ai quitté Häagen Dazs et je travaille
depuis décembre 2006 pour le groupe
Norauto pour lequel j’occupe la position de Directeur Général de Midas
Espagne. Le groupe Norauto a fait l’acquisition de 160 points de vente en
franchise. De surcroît, c’est un petit
retour au pays pour Maguiña et une
très bonne opportunité de compléter
la double culture pour les enfants.
Nina Kullander H00 has left Hilton
International Corporate Office in UK
and is Vice President Human Resources
for First Hotels, based in Oslo since
January 2007.
February 2007
Message de Jérôme Le Bohec H94
J’avais rejoint HARVET NICHOLS LTD en
1997, au départ basé au restaurant OXO
Tower, South Bank, Londres, puis basé
au Knightsbridge Store, Londres depuis
2003 en tant que Hospitality Manager.
Je rejoins DESCAMPS SA en mars 2007
en tant que International Development
Manager, toujours basé à Londres. Je
serai en charge de :
- Développer les boutiques Descamps en
propre et de monter un réseau de franchise en Grande-Bretagne et Irlande.
- Coordonner la stratégie du groupe
avec nos agents, intermédiaires et
master franchise sur le marché britannique et du Moyen-Orient.
- Introduire sur ces marchés d’autres
concepts, magasins et produits du
groupe ZUCCHI, leader européen du
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linge de maison et propriétaire de
Descamps.
In continuing with Hilton’s
alignment and continued growth,
Olivier Chavy H88 assumes the role of
Vice President – Resort Operations
since April 16, 2007. In this capacity,
his global responsibilities include
Revenue Management, Sales &
Marketing, Food & Beverage, Spa
Services, Advertising and all other
ancillary revenue services. He has
direct responsibilities for US-Mainland
– Resort Operations. Olivier is now
based in the USA and serves as IMHI
alumni Honorary President.
Isabelle Arnaud H 96 has left Hudson in
May 2007 for Ellis Fairbank executive
search and selection consultancy in Paris.
Hélène et Laurent Garrido H97 et
leurs deux filles ont quitté l’Île
Maurice et l’hôtel Dinarobin pour la
Polynésie française où Laurent est
depuis le 15 mai General Manager
Sheraton Hotel à Papeete, Tahiti.
June 2007
Julien Leroy H99, Business Development
Director South Europe Expedia Private
Label prend le poste de directeur
France ValueClick Media et Search123
(régie publicitaire online).
Eva Maria Campo H83 General
Manager, San Juan Beach Hotel, San
Juan, Puerto Rico, for three years
becomes co-owner/General Manager,
Delirio Hotel & Company, Cartagena,
Colombia as of June 4, 2007.
« Eva Maria Campo was born in
Barranquilla, Colombia. She studied
Hotel Administration in the University of
Externado. Then, she came to Paris to
study an International MBA in
Hospitality. After IMHI, she was hired by
the international hotel chain Hilton,
where she matured profession-ally. Four
years ago, she was named CEO of a resort
hotel in Puerto Rico. Now, after 23 years
of being an enthusiastic and
international hotelier, she is pleased to
open a hotel-boutique in Cartagena,
where she started her career and received
several awards for her contribution to the
tourist development of the town. Her
innovative hotel-boutique concept will be
called « Delirio » and will be only one of
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the different products that she and her
partners project to market under this
brand name. »
Je quitte mon poste de responsable
produit Expedia.fr pour devenir
directeur Espagne d’Easyvoyages.com
Mon objectif est de lancer et de gérer
l’exploitation du site www.easyviajar.com
Pablo Szefner H04
Article 26 juin 2007 Hotel Restau
Hebdo.
Nomination :
Vincent Levy H90 becomes Senior
Director Acquisitions & Development
EMEA Starwood Hotels & Resorts
July 2007
Sophie Perret H01 has been promoted
Associate Director HVS Global
Hospital-ity Services - London.
Eric-Michel Omgba H05 has left
Disneyland Resort Paris after 4 years.
to join SODEXHO (www.sodexho.com)
as Sr. Marketing Manager for their
Leisure Division.
August 2007
Chinmai Sharma H03
« Dear Industry colleagues and friends –
I wanted to drop a quick note that an
exciting opportunity has come across
my way and I have decided to move on
from Joie de Vivre Hospitality to join
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts as their VP
Revenue Manager (New Jersey). I have
thoroughly enjoyed the past couple of
years interacting with most of you
and also managing the Revenue
Management/Distribution aspect at
Joie de Vivre. JdV is poised for significant growth in California and I am confident that the company will do extremely
well with your continued support. »
Matthieu de Montferrand H03 is leaving
InterContinental Malta to join the preopening team of the Crowne Plaza Festival
City Dubai as Front Office Manager.
Pierre-Alexandre Le Bihan H98
« 9 années se sont déjà écoulées
depuis ma sortie de l’IMHI.
Immédiatement après l’obtention de
mon diplôme j’ai eu la chance d’intégrer le plus grand groupe hôtelier mondial, IHG. Après un passage au sein de 5
hôtels dans la zone E.M.E.A. (Paris,
Beyrouth, Libreville, Genève), j’ai été
transféré dans la zone Asie Pacifique en
tant qu’ Executive Assistant ManagerRooms à l’hôtel InterContinental de
Singapour. Désormais depuis 5 mois j’occupe le poste d’Executive Assistant
Manager au sein de l’hôtel InterContinental
Hanoi Westlake qui ouvrira ses portes au
mois de Novembre prochain. »
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Puneet Chhatwal H91 has been promoted
from Vice President & Chief Development
Officer to Senior Vice President & Chief
Development Officer for the Rezidor Hotel
Groups
After two years and half with HMS Dubai as
Director of Operations Bani Haddad H01
has joined Wyndham Hotel Group
international as Director International
Development - Middle East in September,
still based in Dubai
September 2007
Marc Descrozaille H00
« After 4 years as GM of Hilton CDG, I have
been promoted to the job of:
Senior Director of Brand Performance
Support for EMEA with Hilton. For your
info, the primary role of this position is to
optimize the performance of the hotels in
the area. »
Jean-Claude Wietzel H91 Hotel Manager
du Four Seasons George V Paris a été promu
Directeur Général du Four Seasons, Sharm
el Sheikh, Egypte.
November 2007
Philippe Bijaoui H92 was appointed Vice
President & Chief Development Officier for
the Rezidor hotel group.
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Eugénie Desarnauts H00, Autissier et
Antoine Autissier sont les heureux
parents de Mana née le 14 juillet 2007.
Mana est un nom d’origine Maori, qui
signifie force spirituelle de la vie.
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Caroline et Joris TOYE H05 sont heureux de vous faire part de la naissance
de Margaux le 22 juillet 2007.
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Antoine Moubarak H00 et Gaétane
Moubarak ont la joie de vous annoncer
la naissance de Marjane le 7 août 2007,
Marjane signifie Corail.
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Ananya with her brother Ekam born
August 9th, Shinmai Sharma H03 and
Mona Sharma.
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Anaïs Adjoa Helene Basalgete was
born on August 20, 2007 from Barbara
Balsagete H06 and Nicolas Balsagete.
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Helena-Elise daughter of Margreet
Yntema Papamichael H96 celebrating
her first birthday.
Samantha Pirenc H99, Lawrence Pirenc
H98 and Tom are pleased to announce
the birth of Manon May 9th in Sydney.
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Loic Wietzel, 2 ans et son petit frère
Hugo né le 20 juillet 2007 (Jean-Claude
Wietzel H91).
Maud Mesny, Florian Mesny H01 et
Arthur vous présentent Adrien né
le 7 juillet 2007.
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Valérie Poulingue, Vincent Poulingue
H02 et Augustine sont heureux de vous
annoncer la naissance de Marie-Louise
le mardi 7 août 2007.
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Manon est arrivée le 12 août 2007 pour
la plus grande joie de Corentin et
Marine.
Odile Delorme H98, Jacky Delorme H98.
Annika was born on 24th November 2006
from Sunaina Shivpuri and Gaurav
Shivpuri H02.
Fatma Djenayah et Karim Djenayah H00
sont heureux d’annoncer la naissance
d’Alexandre, le 1er décembre 2006.
Margaux Faisandier et son petit frère
Thibault né le 8 janvier 2007.
Carole Faisandier H97 et Étienne
Faisandier H00.
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Naissance le 13 janvier 2007 de Liam
Pablo Szefner H04 et Anna Szefner
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Matthieu, né pendant le MBA de Maman
et Papa - Marie-Laure Pozzo di Borgo
H03 et Jean-Marie Gras H03 vous
présentent son petit frère Raphaël, né
le 17 janvier 2007.
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Christopher Michau H02, Gwenaelle
Michau et le petit Paul sont heureux de
vous annoncer la naissance de Titouan
le 7 juillet 2007.
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Marriages
1
Matthieu de Montferrand H03 a épousé
Romina le 18 mai 2007.
2
Alice MICOLAU H01 et Vincent Mafaity se
sont mariés le 16 juin à La-Charité-sur-Loire.
3
Mariage de Marie Bernede H06 et Xavier
Paris H05 le 14 juillet.
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Pauline Gleize H01 et Winoc’h Billette
H01 se sont unis le 18 août en l’Église
Saint-Jean-de-Malte, Aix en Provence.
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Rahul Ghai H04 married Yvonne Thomsen
on 18th August in Germany.
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Florence Chenet H00 a épousé Nicolas
Bourdelot le 1er septembre à Auvers-surOise.
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Benjamin Codet H04 s'est marié à
Vienne, Autriche, le 11 août à la plus
grande joie de Lucas né le 15 mars 2007.
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Class Reunion Class of ‘97
Already 10 years, nobody changed! (Well, almost…). On Saturday, July
28th 2007, the IMHI Class of 97 re-united at the Holiday Inn Hotel
Disneyland Paris (special thanks to our IHG team, Soizic and Camille
who made this possible). More than 20 alumni gathered with spouses
and kids from various destinations in Europe, Asia and Northern
America, a crowd of 35 people in total who came to spend the week
end. A day of emotions starting with a get together breakfast, afternoon treasure hunt in the Disneyland Park and a well catered dinner,
followed by a ‘few’ drinks late into the night. Peter O’Connor and
Charles Luthi (President of the IMHI Alumni Association) although
very busy with the last details of the graduation (happening the same
night) joined the happy crowd in the morning and updated us on the
school happenings. Thanks to ‘Papa Fred’, the afternoon treasure hunt
was a great way for everyone to reunite and express their creativity
talent and challenge their Disney knowledge. The evening dinner, perfectly catered by “La Table de Cana” (Jean-Marie Clement, H85)
(thanks to Walter our food consultant expert who made all dinner
arrangements), was a good opportunity to discuss and celebrate the
afternoon treasure hunt adventures and teams achievements, but also
for everyone to catch up on 10 years personal and professional
achievements.
After dinner, Ivan
put his cocktail
mixing skills into
practice and his
explosive recipes
made sure that
nobody
would
remember a single evening conversation.
The 10th year reunion was a true success, everyone really enjoyed getting back together again… Everyone agreed not to wait 2017 to celebrate again. See you in 2010! (Any volunteers for the organization?)
Our school and our alumni network are good opportunities to keep
connected and keep enjoying ourselves and maintain our IMHI spirit.
(by the way, Alumni fees are only 20 euros and can be settled online at
(www.aaimhi.com). And for those wishing to get a few pictures, visit
our official site (http://www.fasquelle.com/IMHI97).
Denis Fasquelle H97
Industry Leaders in the Classroom
A couple of years ago, it was decided to create a course called
“Industry Leaders in the Classroom”. More than a simple course, these
conferences have become an institution at IMHI.
They have become a tool for IMHI students to network with Industry
Leaders, challenge them through Q&A sessions, and impress by their
professional level. These conferences also help students discovering
unusual career paths and new trends in the hospitality industry.
This year, we had the chance to welcome thirteen Industry Leaders
split up into ten conferences. We
are very grateful to our guest
speakers: Philippe JOSSE H94
and Alain FLIPO H94 (HäagenDazs), Didier COUTTE (Compass
Group), Thierry GUILLOT H92
and Emmanuelle L ACOS TE
(Hyatt), Arthur De HAAST (Jones
Lang LaSalle Hotels), Nicolas
BURQUIER H92 (KFC), Grace LeoAndrieu (GLA Hotels), Olivier
ROUGIE (Revenue Management
Solutions),Andrea JONES
(Marriott International), Peter
Daniel Chenain, Director General of ESSEC
Alumni receives a certificate of apprecia- ANSCOMB and Lesley JONES (The
tion from IMHI and IMHI Alumni. Royal Bank of Scotland) and
Nadra MOUSSALEM (Colony Capital).
I would like to thank Youmna MAATOUK and Rose BESONE, respectively President and Vice President of IMHI Traiteur. They regularly
offered us professional and innovative cocktails, which undoubtedly
enhanced the value of these conferences.
These events would not have
been possible without the help of
Charles Luthi and Geneviève
Danten. Geneviève has taken
care of me throughout the year
and helped me realize how broad
and impressing the IMHI Alumni
database was. Forced to share
part of her office with me, she
managed to stand me the entire
year… Not an easy task!
Grace Leo of GLA Hotels at la Maison
Finally I would like to thank all the
des ESSEC Industry Leaders Conference.
students and alumni who regularly
attended these conferences and helped making it a great success. A special thought goes to Thiébaut Ossola, future coordinator of the events.
Dear classmates, these two years spent with you have been fantastic.
I wish you all the best for the rest of your professional and personal
life and hope to see you very soon!
Jérôme Briet H07
IMHI - ESSEC MBA
Avenue Bernard Hirsch
BP 50105 CERGY
95021 CERGY PONTOISE CEDEX - FRANCE
© ESSEC - CTD / IMHI - 1810071030
Alumni Newsletter Editorial Team: Charles Lüthi, IMHI H83, Président AAIMHI - Isabelle Arnaud-Bled, IMHI H96, AAIMHI Newsletter team member - Claire
Tagand Battard H94 - Geneviève Danten - Jeanine Picard, Co-Director
IMHI Alumni (AAIMHI) Board 2007-2008 : Charles Lüthi H83, President - Claire Tagand Battard H94, Secretary - Francis Rollin H83, Treasurer - Isabelle Arnaud
H96 - Frédéric Darré H97 - Sébastien de Courtivron H02 - Honorary Presidents : Éric Vincent H89, Managing Director of HIPPOPOTAMUS restaurants, Groupe Flo,
France - Olivier Chavy H88, Vice President Resort Ops Hilton Grand Vacations, USA
www.imhialumni.com