9th edition
Laureates
First Place: Marine Mortin
Marine Mortin who was representing IMHI-ESSEC has won the 9th edition of the Hyatt Student Prize. Marine shares more about her experience as she redeemed her prize and was invited to visit Hyatt’s Corporate Offices :
« I travelled to Chicago in June 2017 as I was invited for a cross exposure. I had the pleasure to meet with Frank Lavey, whom I had already met December at the prize ceremony. As he remembered that I was interested in brand management, he shared with me his vision of Hyatt’s brands. I ended the day with Mark Hoplamazian (Chief Executive Officer) and Doug Patrick (Senior Vice President Human Resources – Americas) and left the office with many great advices for the future.
I then spent 2 days with the marketing team, discovering all the marketing areas: it really gave me an overview of all the marketing actions which were taking place.
I also spent one day at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The team there initiated me into the organization of the hotel and their efforts to make the hotel stand out in a competitive environment. It was a rewarding and unforgettable experience. I cannot thank the Hyatt family enough for their warm welcome and for sharing their experiences with me. »
Selection of the candidates
A total of 23 schools specialized in international hospitality were selected to join the competition. Following the competition’s requirements, each student had to be at least 21 years old, prepare a Master’s degree and speak English fluently. A first selection, based on the student files and video presentations, was made by the pre selection jury members in November 2016. Then, 9 finalists were selected to participate to the ceremony and final competition.
9 finalists
Raphaël PELÉ La Rochelle Business School / Sup de Co La Rochelle
Marine MORTIN IMHI – ESSEC
Sophie AUDINET ESTHUA – Université d’Angers
Maria LOJO QUINTÁS Centro Superior de Hostelería de Galicia
Yuqi LIU École hôtelière de Lausanne
Anna PELKONEN Glion Institute of Higher Education
Diyana MOHAMED WAHEED DEEN Les Roches International School
Giuseppe FRANCESCO PERROTTA Oxford School of Hospitality Management
Christoph KOTTKAMP Oxford School of Hospitality Hotelschool The Hague
Jury members
Year after year, these personalities represent a variety of backgrounds from the worlds of luxury hospitality, international upscale business, entrepreneurship, sports, entertainment, etc.
Carlo D’Asario Biondo – Jury President
President EMEA Strategic Relationships – Google
Laurent Cintrat – Jury Member
Vice President Sales – Danone
Frank Lavey – Jury Member
Senior Vice President Operations Administration – Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
Patrick Alexandre – Jury Member
Executive Vice President Commercial, Sales and Alliances – Air France-KLM
Vincent Ducrey – Jury Member
Co-Founder & CEO – HUB Insitute
Heleri Rande – Jury Member
Director of Business Development Europe, Middle East and Africa – Puccini Group
Philippe Faure – Jury Member
Ambassador & Chairman of the Board Atout France – Tourism Development Agency
Pierre Ferchaud – Jury Member
Vice President of the Club Leaders of the International Hotel and Luxury