The Faculty

AKERIB Michel

Michel AKERIB, based in Lausanne / Switzerland, holds a PhD in Social Science as well as an MBA. He has more than twenty years of international industry and consultancy experience and has been lecturing and holding workshops since 1991 in various academic institutions such as IMHI (Cornell/ESSEC), the Beijing Polytechnic, and the Lausanne Hotel School, among others.
His favorite subjects are on strategic management, international marketing, innovation and entrepreneurship.

BARTOSIK Curtis

Mr. Bartosik is a professor of Tourism and Hospitality at AIM.

He is the founder and managing director of Paris based Seneca Communications, which specializes in language and service attitude training in the hospitality industry.

He chairs the Hospitality and Travel Task Force at the American Chamber of Commerce and is the president of the Cornell Club of France since 2002 and was a member of the Cornell University Trustee Council.

His past work includes: Construction manager at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and the Nikko Harbor in Tokyo. He was an Army Artillery officer and Business Development Consultant in Silicon Valley. He is an avid marathoner and skier and is fluent in Japanese and French.

BATTARD Claire

Ms. Battard, MBA (Cornell Essec), Director of Training and Human Resources for 7 years within the Marriott Hotel Group, is an expert in management recruitment for the hospitality industry.

Founder of Aptitudes & Alternatives, a Human Resources Consultancy company, she monitors the career management of AIM students, and accompanies them through their professional positioning during their last year of studies.

BLAYAC Laurent-François

Monsieur Blayac enseigne à l’AIM « International Hotel and Resort Development » et «Managing Service in F&B Operations».
Franco-canadien, certifié Clef d’Or, diplômé de l’université Princeton et titulaire d’un Master en Relations commerciales et internationales du Centre d’études diplomatiques et stratégiques de l’ONU, il a débuté sa carrière internationale dans différents grands hôtels aux États-Unis et en Angleterre, où il a également enseigné le management hôtelier au campus Watford de l’université de Londres.
Directeur du protocole de l’ambassade des Etats-Unis à Paris, il y a été chargé des relations internationales et plus particulièrement de l’organisation des séminaires pour le développement Amérique du Nord et Europe des entreprises.
Directeur de zone export Europe de L.V.M.H. Londres-Reims, il a été responsable du secteur CHR, RELAIS ET CHÂTEAU, GMS et GSA dans ses salons internationaux.
Monsieur Blayac enseigne aussi à l’université Paris IX Dauphine depuis 2000 tout en étant coordinateur-Master II, et au Negocia - CCI de Paris, où il est coordinateur pédagogique pour le Royaume-Uni.

BONNIOT Xavier

Mr. Bonniot started his hospitality education at the Ferrandi Culinary School in Paris before leaving for England to complete his undergraduate studies at the Brighton University. He also holds an MBA from IMHI Cornell/ESSEC.

Specialized in the management of high standard restaurants, he has 18 years of professional experience, including 10 years spent all over the world in holiday resorts, cruises, and in large international hotels.

A certified educator, he is in charge of subjects related to restaurant management and teaches "Food & Beverage Operations", "Food & Beverage Project Development and Analysis." He also teaches an advanced course in MS Excel for first year students.

DOGRAMACI Osman

Founder and director of AIM, Dr. Dogramaci holds his Ph.D in Political Science from the Sorbonne University.
Former student of Hotel School of Strasbourg, Ecole Nationale de Commerce, and the CEST of Paris I University, he spent first part of his higher education in hotel and tourism studies.
After finishing Political Science, he was also among the first graduates of IMHI (Cornell/Essec) hospitality management school.

He polished his skills in external relations while working five years in the foreign affairs department at INRIA (National Institute for Computer and Automation Research), before assuming financial and administrative responsibilities in a luxury resort hotel, a Palace in Paris, and an investment bank.

He is an affiliated member in good standing of the Cornell Hotel Society, Certified Hospitality Educator, and member of the faculty of the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Educational Institute.

GENDRAUD Philippe

Philippe P. GENDRAUD is a graduate of Cornell University (MPS), and holds a Post Graduate degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Assurances and lecturing at AIM on Purchasing, Ethics and Internal Control.

He is Associate Professor at Université de Paris Dauphine and has been Visiting Lecturer at numerous Business Schools and Universities in Europe (IESE, Bocconi, Lausanne, Oxford, EDHEC, HAAGA, Strathclyde, Surrey, Salzburg, Heidelberg, Maastricht, Den Hague, IMHI-ESSEC,...).

Enriched by a Franco-American education, he has been working in an international environment, not only in the Hospitality Industry (Hilton, Horwath & Horwath, Concorde Hotels, The Walt Disney Company) but also for institutions such as AXA, OECD, ICPO-INTERPOL.

He has held various positions, encompassing all facets of the Administration/Finance spectrum, as well as Internal Audit. Over the years, he has developed Strategies and implemented Risk & Control schemes, in many Organisations, thus becoming an Expert in Internal Control & Risk Assessment.

He was also Counter Money-Laundering Officer and is the President Emeritus of the NPIO (Network on Procurement in Intergovernmental Organizations).

He is presently Co-President of the Cornell Hotel Society - France Chapter & Director of the Cornell Club of France.

GERARD Edwin V.

Dr. Edwin GERARD earned his B.A. at UCLA and M.A. at Berkeley in Letters, as well as a Doctorate from the University of Paris, III.

He has been teaching legal workshops at the E.F.B. (Paris Bar Association School) since 1990, as well as conducting professional seminars for various law firms in Paris, including Shearman & Sterling, and Latham & Watkins. At AIM he teaches Legal English, Contract Law and Negotiation Skills.

Mr. GERARD is also an award-winning playwright, director and actor, and has appeared in several roles in television, theatre and motion pictures.

KONOLD Constance

Ms. Konold holds a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA).

She has had 25 years of management and consulting experience for diverse organizations as Mumm Champagne, Arthur Andersen, and the International Packaging Association.

A frequent contributor to the online hospitality magazine 4hoteliers.com, she has undertaken more than 18 hospitality quality audits in Europe, China, Thailand and Australia for a major five-star international hotel brand.

Pedagogical advisor, responsible for executive education programs at IMHI (Cornell-ESSEC) from 2000-2004, she is also a certified NLP coach specialized in career development and delivers master's-level HR and communications courses. She teaches freshman "Supervision" for AIM.

LAMBRIDIS Christoforos

Mr. Lambridis obtained his BSc in Business Administration from the American College of Greece and his MA in Industrial Relations from the University of Warwick (UK).

Previously worked as a consultant in Communications and Human Resources, he teaches the subjects of Human Resource Management, Organisational Behaviour, Intercultural Management & Strategic Management.

LAVOIE François

After earning degrees in Political Science and Economics from the University of Laval (Quebec, Canada), Mr. Lavoie, also a graduate from IMHI (Cornell/ESSEC), began his career at major hotels in Quebec and Tokyo before joining Hilton International in Paris, where he has held both operational and managerial positions for over eight years.
"Front Office Management" and "Quality Service", Mister Lavoie has designed and run training programs for groups in direct contact with the clientele.

LEVASSEUR Thierry

Mr. Levasseur graduated from the ESCP (Paris Business School) and from the Hotel School of Thonon-les-Bains.

His career began on cruise ships, followed by work in starred restaurants.

After two years in Germany, he joined the Holiday Inn in Paris before widening his experience within the Concorde and Accor groups.

He spent over 20 years with Hilton International where he started as Food & Beverage Manager and Executive Assistant Manager. He became the Director of Regional Purchasing Department of the chain, managing the procurement operations of 80 hotels in 7 countries.

At AIM, Mr. Levasseur is teaching Management of Purchasing in multi-unit operations.

NAGLE Suzanne

Ms Nagle is teaching Convention Management and Managerial Communication since 2006.

She has an MA in International Affairs from The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and was named a Fulbright scholar.

Before AIM, she has taught at the University of Paris and at the University of Tunis. She has worked for and done consulting for organizations such as United Nations, French Ministry of Culture, Paris Bar Association, Bloomberg Business News and the Foundation Center as well as for many private companies.

She is coauthor of "Creating a New Business", published by Les Editions d'Organisation Paris.

ROSIER Patrick

Mentor Patrick Rosier, with his 40 years of professional experience, teaches Hospitality Sales & Marketing at AIM.

An MBA from INSEAD, he has held many international Marketing, Sales and General Management positions across 3 continents, with such multinationals as: Gillette, Adidas, Polaroid, Walt Disney, Bollé and Club Med.

Vice-President Europe for Walt Disney Attractions, he was responsible for marketing and selling the US Disney parks and hotels to the European public. As Club Med Marketing & Sales Director for Europe, Africa & the Middle East, he was instrumental in implementing a new strategic positioning for "Club Holidays".

Mr. Rosier also teaches at business schools and universities, such as Advancia-Negocia of Chambre de Commerce et d‘Industrie de Paris, Essec, Universities of Aix en Provence and Clermont-Ferrand.

SALEN Bergund

Bergund SALEN is a graduate of the Touristik-Betrieswirt at the University of Munich (Fachschule), Germany.
She began her career at the Munich Hilton Hotel. After having acquired the larger share of responsibility in running the Rooms Departments in Munich and Paris, she became head of In-house Training in the Rooms Department at the Paris Hilton.

Since 1996 she has been teaching Front Office and Housekeeping Management at AIM.

SPIRA Jean-François

Mr. Spira teaches Club Management and International Hotel Development.
For over thirty years, he has worked in Sales and Marketing, Corporate Sales and General Management for luxury hotel companies such as the InterContinental, Hilton International and the Meridien group.

A graduate of the Lausanne Hotel School, he is the President of the EHL Alumni Association, Paris-France Chapter.

KASTNER Robert E.

Robert E. Kastner was graduated from Cornell University with both Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration specializing in finance. After completing his graduate studies, Mr. Kastner taught at Cornell on the faculty of the School of Hotel Administration. His areas of concentration include accounting, hotel financial management, investments, and personal computing.

Mr. Kastner has continued to teach at Cornell's Professional Development Program and is currently on the faculty of the Institut de Management Hotelier International (IMHI) graduate program at Groupe ESSEC in France as a Visiting Professor and at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Masters in Management of Hospitality (MMH) in Switzerland and at Académie Internationale de Management (AIM) in Hotel & Tourism Management in Paris.

Mr. Kastner is widely known as a lecturer and producer of management development programs for the Hospitality Industry. He has had a long association with Best Western International, Embassy Suites Hotels, the Howard Johnson Franchise Systems, Holiday Inns, Inter-Continental Hotels, Hilton International, Meridien Hotels & Resorts and Groupe Accor.

He has also lectured with Ramada Inns, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, AT&T, American Express, Radisson Hotels and Resorts, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Richfield Hotels Inc., Manor Care Hotel Division, the United States Army, Continental Hotels (Romania), Ecola Superior de Hotelaria e Tourismo do Estoril (ESHTE) (Portugal), University of Perugia (Italy), and Escuela Oficial de Turismo (Spain), Indian Tourist Development Corporation (India) and numerous trade associations, schools and colleges.

As President of 9 Tek LTD., Mr. Kastner is involved in the development of client programs and installation of two management simulations, the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Simulation Exercises, CHASE and CRASE. In addition, he has developed numerous software programs in the area of financial management and hotel development.

Mr. Kastner is married and resides with his wife Linda and two sons, Rob and Brian, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA.

LUTHI Charles

Charles Lüthi, the Director and Secretary General of the “Automobile Club de France”, is a longstanding associate of AIM. He is giving lectures mainly in Club Management and in the fields related to the management of international spa, sports and fitness companies.

He has previously held the position of Deputy CEO of Interpacific Resorts - owner of Pacific Islands Club in Micronesia and the Sports Super Center in Australia. Subsequently, he was the Director of Corporate Relations and Career Development for the graduate program in hospitality management at Essec Business School, Paris.

Charles also worked for 14 years in the sporting goods industry for Bell Sports and CCM-The Hockey Company as the Managing Director and VP International based in Europe. He was associated with the NHL (National Hockey League) in the sales of their licensed products as well as in the organization of youth sports events in Europe.

He started his career in mergers and acquisitions in the hotel, retail and sporting goods sector and was later in charge of the distribution of luxury goods in the duty free sector in the South Pacific and in Europe.

Alongside his career, Charles' philanthropic activities are devoted to higher education, disadvantaged youth or population health. He has had a great opportunity to contribute personally and through the companies he has been working with to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged people.

Charles received an MBA from Cornell/ ESSEC (IMHI), a joint MBA program between the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (USA) and ESSEC Business School (France). He currently serves as President of the Alumni Association of the ESSEC MBA in hospitality management (AAIMHI) and is a member of CHS, Cornell Hotel Society.

BAPTISTA Eric

Mr. Baptista joined KPMG’s tourism and hotel consulting division where he conducted numerous feasibility studies, valuations and operational audits for several international hotel groups, investors and banks, after occupying various management positions in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

This experience was followed by 2 years of asset management for an investment fund managed by Goldman Sachs.

Most recently, Mr. Baptista was Managing Director of a French hotel management company operating 31 properties in France.

A graduate of IMHI (Cornell/ESSEC), Mr. Baptista teaches at AIM « Feasibility studies and Valuations in the Hospitality Industry ».