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LRA Worldwide Senior Consultant Fernando Fernández Appointed to the Governing Board of the Prestigious Hotel Institute Montreux
HORSHAM, Pennsylvania/MONTREUX, Switzerland; December 13, 2005 - LRA Worldwide, Inc., announced that one of its Senior Consultants, Fernando Fernández, was recently invited to serve on the Governing Board of the Hotel Institute Montreux (HIM), one of Europe's elite hospitality schools. Fernández, a 1997 HIM graduate, will begin his tenure this December 12-13th at the school's biannual board meetings.
Based outside of Philadelphia, LRA is a leading consulting, training and research firm in the area of Customer Experience Management, or CEM. As one of its CEM service offerings, LRA designs and implements Quality Assurance "Mystery Shopping" programs for some of the leading hospitality brands in the world, completing more than 2,000 overnight inspections and site audits per year. In his role as a Senior Consultant, Fernández runs many of LRA's international client engagements, including those with Pestana Hotels and Resorts, Grupo Posadas S.A. de C.V., Oberoi Hotels and Resorts and Starwood Hotels & Resorts - Latin America. Fernández has worked for LRA for almost six years, prior to which he amassed 15 years of hospitality industry experience, most recently as the General Manager for the Barcelo Prague Hotel.
"It is truly a feather in our cap to add a board member with Mr. Fernández's diverse and extensive industry expertise," said Jeanny Wildi, Academic Dean for the Hotel Institute Montreux. "Mr. Fernández will play an integral role in helping to develop the present and future HIM curriculum, mission and guiding principles in order to best shape the next generation of leadership in the hospitality industry."
The Hotel Institute Montreux was established in 1985 for the purpose of continuing Switzerland's longstanding reputation for excellence in hospitality education. At the time, HIM was one of the few English-speaking programs in Switzerland; now the school graduates 450 students annually and is spread out over two campuses in downtown Montreux, as well as at satellite offices in Singapore, China and Germany. HIM alumni currently work in the hospitality industry in 80 countries throughout the world; the HIM Alumni Association is active in 86.
"This is a fitting recognition of Fernando's distinguished body of work both with LRA and prior to joining our team," said Stan Lashner, LRA's Chief Operating Officer. "We feel that our roster of consultants is unparalleled in the depth and breadth of their knowledge of the hospitality industry, and this appointment is certainly a reaffirmation of this belief."
"My experience as a student at Hotel Institute Montreux was the best possible preparation for my career," added Fernández. "During the most challenging times, I could rest assured that my decisions were grounded in the finest hospitality education available. Given all that HIM has meant to me in my career development, I am honored to be able to give back to the Institute and the current and future student body."
In addition to his degree from HIM, Fernández also holds a Tourism Degree from the Official Tourism School of Madrid, Spain and a Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
About LRA Worldwide, Inc.
LRA Worldwide, Inc. is a leading consulting, organizational development and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM). LRA helps companies and brands design and deliver the optimal customer experience across all key touch points using an integrated suite of services that measure and improve service quality, customer satisfaction, employee performance, loyalty, customer advocacy and profitability. LRA specializes in "operationalizing the brand" - turning brand promise and customer strategy into operational reality. LRA's CEM practice areas include CEM Strategy Design, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, Research and Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping; these are either deployed together in a strategic manner to continually monitor and improve the customer experience or deployed individually to address a specific tactical client need.
LRA's clients include some of the world's leading companies and brands, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and First Niagara Financial Group. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com
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