Lausanne – The Board of Governors of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) has regretfully accepted the resignation of Ruud J. Reuland, General Director of the establishment for the end of the year. This decision, made for personal reasons, comes after eight years of service during which he greatly contributed to reinforcing the international reputation of the first hotel school in the world.

Announced today, Mr Ruud J. Reuland’s decision comes at a time when the School has renewed all the courses it offers, enlarged its campus and attained a record number of admissions. Marco Torriani, President of the Board of Governors, has stated that: « Ruud Reuland went well beyond the objectives that were set for him on his arrival in 2002 by the Board of Governors. He has consolidated the School’s position at the international level and adapted the learning programmes to the needs of the market. We will continue in future to implement our strategy and provide a unique added value to our students, clients and partners ».

At nearly 60 years old and after almost eight years spent at the helm of EHL, Ruud J. Reuland feels that the time has come for him to pass the torch on to a new generation of entrepreneurs and devote himself to new challenges and his family.

EHL’s Board of Governors has named a committee made up of three of its members (Marco Torriani, Olivier Blanc, Guglielmo Brentel) to recruit a new General Director. The goal is to ensure a real continuity of the School’s development strategy and to nominate a successor to Mr Ruud J. Reuland before the end of 2009.

As the oldest hotel school in the world, the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) offers university level training to talented and ambitious young students who are destined to fill the top management positions in the hospitality industry worldwide. In order to provide them with the best possible training, EHL regularly adapts the contents of its three programmes to include the latest technologies and trends in the marketplace. Since its foundation in 1893, the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne has trained more than 25'000 managers for the hospitality industry who, today, provide a network of precious contacts for all the members of the EHL community. At the present time 1700 students of more than 80 nationalities are taking advantage of the beautiful setting for study and the unique life provided by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.

Cédric Focking Schneider
Communication Officer
+41 21 785 13 54
EHL