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value is created and how operational decisions affect investment outcomes – provided an important foundation. The same tenet appears in entrepreneurship. In 2016, Andrew and Bastien saw an opportunity for a high-quality cocktail bar in Guangzhou, China. They opened a speakeasy; with no marketing budget and no certainty it would work. What they did have was a hospitality education that had taught them how to create an experience, manage margins, build a team and maintain standards. “Details mattered. You had to understand all of it, which for me really set a foundation for everything that followed,” Andrew explains. “I knew what is expected at the highest level of hospitality.” Their bar has since featured on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, while the pair have expanded across Guangzhou and Shenzhen and established an F&B consultancy. TENET 3: EVERY DETAIL IS A DECISION Hospitality training instils an understanding that the overall quality of an experience is shaped by an accumulation of small choices. This attention to detail combines an appreciation of the customer experience with commercial discipline. Matthieu works within a brand where the memories a client carries away matter alongside the product itself. The skills he developed through hospitality education – networking, reading people and sustaining
manage complexity in motion, balancing cost control, quality standards, staffing and guest experience in environments where errors are immediately visible. That operational fluency, coupled with a rigorous business education, is also valuable in finance and real estate. “The bridge between hospitality management and private banking is actually closer than people think. My background [in hospitality] helps me focus more on quality. You can optimise the client experience through every single department of the bank,” said Laurent. After completing his BSc in Hospitality Management at EHL and working in luxury hotel management, Laurent moved into finance and is now CEO of one of Switzerland’s most important private banks. Fellow EHL alumna Lucia knew from a young age that she wanted to work in investment. An administrative internship during her degree helped confirm that direction: “Internships are a great way to get into a sector as a trial run. It just confirmed the idea of wanting to go into that sector, and that’s where I ended up after EHL.” Lucia built her career in hotel real estate investment across London and Madrid before completing an MBA at INSEAD. She now holds the role of Head of Asset Management Germany & Austria, overseeing a portfolio of hotels across both markets. The financial literacy she developed through her degree – understanding how assets perform, how
standards – transferred naturally into the luxury sector. For Andrew and Bastien, attention to detail helps turn a bar into a destination. The bar’s reputation rests not only on its cocktails but also its atmosphere: the hidden entrance, the neighbourhood and the sense that every element has been considered. For Will, the same principle appears in his company’s belief that leadership development tools should feel human and intuitive. In hospitality, detail is not simply decoration; it can be the difference between an experience people remember and one they forget. CHOOSING YOUR DIRECTION Matthieu, Laurent, Lucia, Andrew, Bastien and Will work across different industries, countries and disciplines. What they share is a way of thinking that has proved valuable far beyond traditional hospitality. A hospitality business education develops these capabilities in an environment where theory and practical experience continually intersect. For students considering this path, perhaps the question is not simply whether the degree will open doors, but which doors matter to them. A hospitality degree does not have to determine where a graduate goes next. Instead, it can help shape the kind of professional they become when they get there. Discover EHL’s Bachelor programme at our Open Day in Lausanne, or online at ehl.edu/bachelor
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