Charles Ray Thomas Jr. With over 30 years of experience in hospitality, Mr Thomas brings significant skills to the role; he joins the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne from Southwest Airlines, one of the most profitable airline operations in the world where he rose to the position of Director of Financial Analysis. He joined Southwest Airlines in 1987 as a Financial Analyst. Prior to this, he worked for five years as a Certified Public Accountant and partner at Thomas, McBride & Associates. Dr Thomas also taught finance, managerial accounting and accounting for decision making in various MBA and EMBA programmes in the US. Dr Thomas comes from the US where he was awarded a Master of Taxation from Baylor University and then a PhD in finance and accounting from The University of Texas at Arlington.