Michel GehrigThe search for talent will be one of the main priorities for Kempinski Hotels over the next few years. On April 2, 2012, Michel Gehrig, a passionate advocate for talent development with a career in luxury hospitality spanning over 25 years, took over the position of Vice President Talent Development for Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group. Michel will be responsible for talent management on a hotel level, including talent development and recruitment, and will lead Kempinski’s Talent Development teams, on a Corporate, Regional and hotel level. At the same time, the 47-year old Belvoirpark hotel school (Zurich) graduate will support hotel General Managers and Heads of Department in their search for talented young people, and in their talent development initiatives. Gehrig will also be responsible for strengthening the cooperation between Kempinski and various hotel schools, and will report directly to Kempinski’s President & CEO Reto Wittwer. Henrike Gosemann, who previously held the position of VP Talent Development for Kempinski, established the group’s Talent Development department and who successfully introduced the Kempinski Career Day concept, will be leaving Kempinski to pursue further academic studies, and later, other career opportunities. In the context of Kempinski’s ongoing expansion, Talent Development is a subject of increasing importance – a notion not lost on Gehrig, who had been Kempinski’s Vice President Culinary since 2008. Gehrig’s own passion for excellence and his unshakable belief in high quality and perfection made him a strong advocate for talent, quickly being able to see people’s potential and taking the necessary steps to help his team members develop their skills. Throughout his career and the opening or repositioning of numerous hotels and outlets, Gehrig’s objective was always to create extraordinary experiences for guests – in various different countries and taking into account sometimes disadvantageous conditions. “I don’t give people jobs, I give them career opportunities,” says Gehrig. His own ability to live by this motto and meet expectations working together with his team make him a true role model in the industry – and an example to be followed by generations to come. A Swiss national, Michel Gehrig is fluent in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.