A Career at Corporate Level

When Peter Pfohl, a native of Germany, graduated from César Ritz Colleges, he was –like many of his peers– aiming for an international career. He began working in the USA and ten years later he finds himself back in Switzerland as Vice President, PMS Operations, at the Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (MH&R) corporate office near Zürich.

Having started with a classical German apprenticeship, the Hotel Management Diploma obtained from César Ritz Colleges helped Peter to advance along his career path: "A certification like this will always complement a sound professional education. The school offered a healthy mix of commercial and practical topics. Alongside the day to day courses we were tasked to prepare and present additional assignments which kept us on our toes."

Today, Peter’s main responsibilities include: Management and development of MH&R’s specific business applications, providing support in quality assurance and benchmarking and advising the management board on all property management systems matters. Peter negotiates contracts with strategic partners and evaluates hotel software solutions and assists with their development.

Peter Pfohl is proud of his professional achievements, including:

• Integration of a next generation product suite into chain specific product life cycle
• Assisting in the migration of a new CRS interface
• Successful launch of an e-marketing add-on module across the group
• Introduction of an electronic guest satisfaction survey tool.

Among his favorite memories of student life at César Ritz Colleges, Peter recalls the spirit of comradeship amongst the students and the diversity of the multinational student community. He remembers learning a particular motto, "Big things first" which is, "stuck in my mind when I am faced with today’s challenges and ever changing priorities in my business life."

Asked to give advice to aspiring students, Peter encourages: "Always work hard and don’t get discouraged if success is not always a direct result from your efforts. If with an employer or in a position you feel that there is no evolvement, do not try to sit it out for too long but aspire for new opportunities. Sometimes new or hidden talents are just waiting to be discovered."