Nitin Radhakrishnan finished the 3 year Diploma in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Kovalam, India in 2000. The hunger to succeed and urge to win leads him to pursue travelling to Switzerland where he did the direct entry Diploma at the Institut Hotelier César Ritz, Le Bouveret. Nitin did the internship at the famous Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich where he was able to experience the true Swiss Hospitality.

Whilst at the Dolder Grand Hotel, Nitin got the opportunity to work for the Savoy in London. Despite getting couple of offers from the US to do the Management training program, he made the decision to work for the Savoy in London. While working for the Savoy, Nitin had the golden opportunity to represent the then Savoy Group for the prestigious Young chef Young Waiter competition and emerged as one of the regional finalist of the coveted competition.

A stint of more than a year with the Savoy, got the opportunity to work for the Marriott and since been with the company for almost five years in different roles in three different Marriott’s in and around London. Nitin is currently with the Marriott, Bexleyheath England as the Conference & Events Manager.

Three years ago, Nitin decided to take on the biggest plunge to tie the wedding knot to Kavitha who was pursuing her Masters from Cambridge. She works for the Lloyds Bank in London.

Setting the pace in Goa

Neeraj Chadha's love of cricket and golf has stood him in good stead in carving out a successful career as the General Manager of the Goa Marriot resort. Under his leadership the resort has gone from strength to strength and has become a benchmark for others to measure themselves against.

Young, dynamic and charismatic, Neeraj Chadha already has 15 years experience in the hospitality industry under his belt. With vision and foresight, he has consistently helped Goa Marriot Resort to grow, realigning the business, overcoming challenges and consolidating strengths.

Under his leadership, Goa Marriot Resort has emerged to become a benchmark for product enhancement, service delivery and team and concept development.

Neeraj has been recognized time and again for the contribution he has made to the growth of Marriot in India, receiving the Spirit to Serve Award in 2004, the Sales Leadership Award in 2005 and the Associate Excellence Award in the same year. During his tenure, the resort has increased revenue by 80 per cent and recorded a 300 per cent increase in profit!

Upon graduating from the Institut Hôtelier «César Ritz» Colleges in Switzerland in 1990, Neeraj followed specialized courses in front office procedures, accounting practices, sales, promotion and food & beverage services at educational institutes in the USA and the UK.

He began his career in the late 80s with the Noga Hilton Hotel in Geneva and then worked with other Swiss Hotels like the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne before moving to Australia. In 1992 he joined the Sheraton Towers Southgate in Melbourne in its pre-opening stage. Moving quickly through the ranks, he was later posted to the Sheraton On The Park, Sydney. During his time at the two Sheraton properties, they won prizes for being the top conferencing and catering venue in Australia for four years running.

In 1999, Neeraj went to the Radisson Resort on the Gold Coast. His special assignment was to supervise the Olympic camps for British and para-olympic athletes. From the Gold Coast, he joined the Hilton Group where he was responsible for Business Development & Operations in India. He then moved for a short period to Shanghai and later to Colombo as Director of Business Development. Here, Neeraj was instrumental in establishing comprehensive yield management and Business Development systems.

Neeraj is married to Kanchan and they have two lovely daughters, Sachi and Tanisha.

Backing «César Ritz» Colleges in Canada

Teg Brar arrived at “«César Ritz» Colleges” Colleges in January 1990 to study for a Diploma in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Now, he’s the representative for “«César Ritz» Colleges” in Canada and the president of the country’s newly-established Alumni Chapter.

The service skills and professional discipline learnt at «César Ritz» Colleges have been valuable to me throughout my career. My years at «César Ritz» Colleges flew by, punctuated only by internships in the food and beverage and front office departments at the Renaissance Hotel in Geneva.

After graduating, I travelled to the United States, obtaining a Master of Science from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, USA.

My career in the North American hospitality industry began as a front office intern at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington D.C. I then went to the 500-room Capital Hilton as an Assistant Room Service Manager but was soon catapulted up the career ladder when my superior left unexpectedly.

My next appointment took me to Washington’s most distinguished address, the Hay Adams Hotel, “Where nothing is overlooked but the White House”. This small property is a member of the “Leading Hotels of the World” and is consistently rated as one of the best hotels in North America. I worked as Hotel Assistant Manager and later as Front Desk Manager.

After spending five years on the east coast of the United States, it was definitely time for a change.

The opportunity arrived in 1997 and I moved to the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada, to become Front Office Manager at the Metropolitan Hotel. The three years I spent in Vancouver were very special both professionally and personally – I got married in 1998!

With the dawn of the new millennium, we relocated to our dream city – Sydney, Australia. Preparations for the Olympics were in full swing and I joined the InterContinental Hotel Group to work across their Sydney properties in rooms management.

Sydney kept us entertained for three years, but we missed Canada! In 2003, we moved back to Vancouver and since then I have been involved in consulting and training.

My current position is Director with Alpina International (www.alpinainternational.com) promoting the programmes of «César Ritz» Colleges Colleges in Canada. Alpina International also works closely with the «César Ritz» Colleges careers office to provide full support to graduates looking for employment opportunities in Canada. I am also president of the Vancouver chapter of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Should you require assistance, please contact info@alpinainternational.com

Teg Brar
October 2006

I can still recall my graduation as though it were yesterday – but a lot has happened since that day in Switzerland back in 1986!

After leaving Hotelschool Zillwald, as the Institut Hôtelier «César Ritz» Colleges was once called, I joined the Kempinski in Mumbai (then Bombay) as a management trainee and worked for about two and a half years as Assistant Manager for mini bar, coffee shop and banquets. In 1991, I was promoted to Banquet Manager, a position I held for three years. During that period, I was runner-up in the category of Best Banqueting Manager at the 1992 Indian Hotel and Food Services Awards.

In 1994, I left India to join Ramada in Dubai. I then worked for Forte Hotels as Assistant Food and Beverage Manager before returning to Ramada in 1996 as Head of Food and Beverage.

Moving to the Metropolitan chain of the Al Habtoor Group, I became Assistant Director of Sales for the Metropolitan Deira Hotel in Dubai, and was soon promoted to Director of Sales. I then accepted the challenge of running the hotel as Resident Manager. As the hotel had no General Manager, I was responsible for all aspects of both administration and sales. In recognition of my accomplishments, I was made General Manager in 2003, which is the position I hold today. In 2005, I had the great honour of receiving an achievement award from Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of the group.

Thinking back to 1998 when I made the difficult decision to go from Food and Beverage into Sales, I recall how all my colleagues advised me against the move. Only Mr Martin Kisseleff, President of «César Ritz» Colleges Colleges, told me I was doing the right thing. Today, I realize that he was right because, in my post, I see how important it is for a General Manager to have good all-round experience.

Kutty Menon
December 2006

A dream career in hospitality management comes true

The President of the Indian Chapter, Irfan Mirza, describes how a glittering career path took him from waiter service to the faculty of “César Ritz” Colleges Switzerland.

I started out in the hospitality business with a simple certificate in restaurant counter service and worked hard for eight years as a waiter at a five-star hotel.

My big break came with the opportunity to study and get a diploma in hotel management in Switzerland. I began with a diploma in food and beverage management from the International College of Hotel Management, Montana, followed by a diploma in hotel management at “César Ritz” Colleges Switzerland.

I graduated from the campus at Le Bouveret in 1989 and then completed my training with a Bachelor’s degree in hotel management in Galway in Ireland.

During the period I spent getting a hotel education at “César Ritz” Colleges I was transformed from a rather gauche, under-confident non-English speaker into a completely different person.

After my studies and training overseas, I returned to India and joined the faculty of the newly established Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology at Kovalam, a government-run National Council of Hotel Management Institute. From there, I went to the private sector setting up a Hotel Management Institute of which I was the principal.

That’s how I became a visiting member of the faculty for “César Ritz” Colleges Switzerland and of the Deventer Business School in the Netherlands.

In 2000, I was appointed to the post of Director Academic Relations, India, for “César Ritz” Colleges. I am also a project consultant in the setting up of hotel management schools in India and other countries. My functions include promoting the interests of “César Ritz” Colleges and dealing with educational institutes on academic matters and transfers.

Writing this piece gives me the opportunity to acknowledge the prominent part played by “César Ritz” Colleges in my successful career path!

January 2008

When I first landed in Switzerland in a winter day of ’97, it was the first time I saw snow in my life. It was also the first time that I was travelling outside India. I was excited and afraid at the same time. Excited because it was a unique opportunity for me to go abroad and study further, afraid because this was a big financial commitment that I was not sure I could afford at that time. I had joined the school as a direct entry having completed a 3-year diploma in India and having had a work experience of about 3 years. The six months of classes in le Bouveret just flew past. I had a great time in a great atmosphere. After the course I had an opportunity to start my training at Intercontinental in Geneva in room service. I choose to work in night shift, as no one wanted to work in the nights. This meant that I was completely responsible for room service which also gave me an opportunity to earn good tips from happy clients !
I went to work in Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee afterwards. Though I liked the challenging work there, my preference was for Europe. Having had a chance to work in 3 continents now, it was time to make a choice. I came back to Paris and studied French there for a few months. This also gave me some breathing space and time to think as to what I wanted to do in the future. Having worked and studied for almost 6 years continuously without so much as a real vacation, it was good to have some time to think clearly.
I then decided to do my MBA and choose to do it in Belgium for two reasons: one, the university was among the top 50 in the world, and two, my girlfriend, Eve, whom I met in Switzerland (who is now my wife), persuaded me to give Belgium a try. I started the part time Executive MBA to give me a chance to work and earn.
At this time there were a lot of software companies from India looking to get a foothold in the European Market. Initially I started off by helping these companies find clients and earning a percentage of this business. I slowly started exploring the idea of starting my own business. By end 2000, I decided to take the plunge hoping that I have gained sufficient experience to start on my own. It was a small start with about 20 developers in India. After a challenging first year, the business started going better. The basic premise of the business was to develop custom software for European companies in India to take advantage of the cost and expertise of India. In 2004, one of our biggest clients – a Belgian Bank, made a bid to acquire our company. By 2005 we sold the company to them. Today, with about 300 persons, it is one of the largest captive offshoring centres of a Belgian company in India. After helping the bank make a successful transition in India, I decided to start again beginning of 2007. We plan to have about 100 people working for us in India in the new company by end of 2008. Recently we also received an investment from the biggest Venture Capital in Belgium who now own about 10% of our business.
Though I am not in the hotel business anymore, I owe a large part of my small success to my experience in Switzerland. Being there gave me an international exposure and an ability to work well in a multicultural context (we already have employees working for us in India and Belgium and we are now on the verge of setting up a development centre in Eastern Europe). It also gave me confidence to go out in the world and handle different types of people. Like the hotel business, our business is also very service -oriented where the biggest challenge is to manage the clients’ expectations. Software is also something that is very intangible, much like a guest experience in a hotel. And, what better place to learn how to handle these than César Ritz!

Hi, Am currently working as an Assistant General Manager for The Brunton boatyard hotel, two time winner of the best hotel in India in its category. Its a small 26 room hotel known for its upscale rooms and F&B outlets. Post my stint at Bouveret, I had my internship at Noga Hilton, Geneva , post which I was offered a job at Gatwick Hilton. I also had an offer from Opryland hotel. However due to reasons beyond my control, I couldnt go there as I was an indirect victim of the 9/11 blasts. However that paved the way for my stint as a Management Trainee at The Leela, Mumbai ( part of the Kempinski hotels ), followed by a posting at Leela Goa as a Duty Manager. I was also at the Leela Kovalam as a Night Manager. I also had stints at Taj group of hotels in north goa as a conferences manager at their resorts and as a reservations manager at Taj, Kumarakom. Am moving ahead and would be joining Radisson SAS, Kuwait as an Assistant manager in Front Office. Being with IHCR has definitely been one of the best days in my life and the exposure there has helped me a lot. I still remember the times when our batch - "Mekong" won the Banquet competition ! I hope I can get in touch with my batchmates and peers using this forum and spread the cheer..