EHL’s Next Era Begins as Achim Schmitt Takes Over the World’s Leading Hospitality School From January 2027

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September 1, 2026 15:31 GMT+5:30

The appointment marks a significant transition for EHL because Schmitt is moving from leading the institution’s academic core to heading the wider Group, bringing the perspective of a professor and dean into the organisation’s top executive position. EHL says the Board selected him as the next CEO after assessing the institution’s next stage of development, following years in which the Group strengthened its international presence, financial position, academic offering and institutional reputation.

The succession will not happen immediately because Venzin will remain CEO until 31 December 2026 and continue to oversee operational activities throughout the transition period. Schmitt will work with the Board and Executive Leadership Team during the coming months to prepare the next strategic cycle, while Venzin will remain connected to EHL after leaving the CEO position as Vice President of the International Advisory Board.

Why Achim Schmitt is an important choice

Schmitt already occupies a central position within EHL, serving as Dean of EHL Hospitality Business School, Full Professor and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. EHL’s faculty profile identifies his areas of expertise as corporate strategy, organisational transformation, strategic management, corporate turnaround and strategic renewal, providing a leadership background that extends beyond traditional academic administration.

He joined EHL in 2013 and has played a role in developing graduate programmes at national and international levels, while his academic credentials include a PhD from the University of Geneva and a Habilitation from Paris-Dauphine. His promotion therefore represents an internal succession built around someone already familiar with EHL’s academic model, international ambitions, faculty environment and relationship with the hospitality industry.

The timing is important for global hospitality education

The hospitality industry is undergoing rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence, digitalisation, shifting consumer behaviour, sustainability requirements and changing workforce expectations. EHL’s Board has explicitly framed Schmitt’s mandate around ensuring that the institution’s educational mission remains central while maintaining academic rigour and operational excellence in a rapidly changing world.

That creates a different challenge from simply expanding a university’s student numbers or geographic footprint because hospitality education has to connect classroom knowledge with the realities of hotels, restaurants, tourism companies, luxury brands and service businesses. EHL’s own learning philosophy is built around experiential education, social learning, leadership and lifelong learning, making the connection between theory and practical industry experience a core part of its model.

EHL is already operating from a position of strength

EHL describes itself as a global reference in education, innovation and consulting for the hospitality and service sector, with a history dating back to 1893. Its current Group structure includes educational programmes ranging from apprenticeships to master’s degrees, professional and executive education, and campuses in Switzerland and Singapore.

Its current academic position also gives Schmitt a strong platform from which to begin his CEO tenure. EHL says the Hospitality Business School has been ranked number one worldwide in the QS World University Rankings for Hospitality and Leisure Management for eight consecutive years from 2019 through 2026.

Markus Venzin leaves behind a transformed institution

Venzin became CEO of EHL Group in September 2022 and has overseen a period in which the institution sharpened its strategic direction and expanded its international and academic profile. During his tenure, EHL secured AACSB accreditation and B Corp certification while also establishing the School of Practical Arts, initiatives that the Group identifies as important milestones in its recent transformation.

The creation of the School of Practical Arts is particularly relevant to the next stage because it addresses a central question facing hospitality education: how should students acquire practical competencies while also developing the strategic and analytical skills expected from modern business leaders? EHL says the school is designed to provide hospitality competences relevant to an industry increasingly shaped by digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

Practical skills are becoming more important

Hospitality remains a people-intensive industry even as hotels, restaurants and travel companies adopt more technology, automation and artificial intelligence. EHL’s emphasis on practical arts reflects the idea that future hospitality leaders will need both technical capabilities and human skills, particularly as guest expectations become more personalised and technology changes how service is delivered.

That philosophy is already visible in EHL’s educational approach, which combines academic rigour with industry practice and experiential learning. The institution says its objective is to prepare students to become responsible professionals, creative and pragmatic problem-solvers, inclusive leaders and lifelong learners, positioning hospitality education as a broader management discipline rather than narrow vocational training.

AI is changing what hospitality schools must teach

Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most significant forces affecting tourism and hospitality, from revenue management and customer personalisation to marketing, forecasting, hotel operations and workforce planning. EHL’s leadership transition therefore arrives at a point when hospitality schools have to decide how quickly their curricula, research and practical training should adapt to technology that is changing the industry itself.

The School of Practical Arts gives EHL one mechanism for responding to that shift, while Schmitt’s academic background in strategic management gives him a framework for considering how technological disruption affects organisations. His mandate explicitly includes preparing students for the challenges of a rapidly changing world while preserving a human-centred approach to leadership.

International growth remains part of the picture

EHL’s international footprint is another important element of Schmitt’s incoming role because the Group now operates educational campuses in Switzerland and Singapore. Its current campus structure gives students access to different hospitality markets and international business environments while allowing EHL to extend its educational model beyond its historic Lausanne base.

The international dimension matters because hospitality is inherently global, with major hotel companies operating across continents and students increasingly building careers across markets. Maintaining a consistent academic standard while adapting education to different regional industry needs will therefore be an important part of EHL’s next growth cycle.

What Schmitt could bring to the CEO role

Schmitt’s existing combination of academic leadership, strategic research and executive-level involvement gives him an unusually direct understanding of EHL’s internal operating model. He is already part of the Executive Leadership Team, while his role as Dean gives him close exposure to students, faculty, academic programmes and the institution’s educational mission.

That could make the transition more evolutionary than disruptive because the incoming CEO is already deeply embedded within the organisation. Rather than introducing an entirely new external strategy, Schmitt has been tasked with building on the foundations established during Venzin’s tenure while putting schools and students at the centre of the next chapter.

The hospitality industry is watching closely

EHL’s influence extends well beyond Switzerland because its graduates, alumni and industry partnerships connect the institution with hotels, restaurants, tourism companies and service organisations around the world. The Group says EHL has more than 25,000 alumni worldwide and a student community representing more than 120 nationalities, giving its leadership decisions significance across the international hospitality education ecosystem.

For the travel and tourism industry, the importance of the appointment lies partly in the people EHL prepares for future leadership positions. Hotel companies are facing simultaneous pressures from labour shortages, technology, sustainability, changing travel patterns and increasingly sophisticated customers, making the quality and relevance of hospitality education a strategic industry issue rather than simply an academic concern.

Academic credibility will remain central

EHL’s AACSB accreditation is another important part of the institution’s current academic position. AACSB is a major international business-school accreditation body, and EHL’s accreditation places its business education within a globally recognised quality-assurance framework.

Maintaining that academic credibility while continuing to deliver practical hospitality education will be one of Schmitt’s central challenges. The institution’s identity depends on the combination of academic quality and industry relevance, so the next CEO will need to ensure that growth and innovation do not weaken either side of that equation.

Human-centred leadership is becoming a strategic differentiator

Schmitt’s incoming mandate repeatedly emphasises human-centred leadership, which is particularly relevant to hospitality because the industry ultimately depends on interactions between people. Technology can automate transactions, analyse customer preferences and optimise operations, but hotels and restaurants still rely on employees who can understand guests, solve problems and create meaningful experiences.

EHL’s mission explicitly combines hospitality practice, management education and research, while its vision is built around developing action-driven individuals and innovative practices in the international service industry.

That positioning could become increasingly valuable as artificial intelligence changes the economics and mechanics of hospitality. The future hospitality manager may need to supervise AI-enabled systems while simultaneously becoming better at the human aspects of leadership, communication and service culture.

What happens to Markus Venzin?

Venzin will remain fully responsible for EHL’s operational leadership through the end of 2026, allowing the organisation to complete the succession without an abrupt change at the top. His continued involvement through the International Advisory Board also means EHL will retain access to his institutional knowledge and international perspective after he leaves the CEO position.

The arrangement provides continuity while giving Schmitt time to develop the next strategic cycle with the Board and Executive Leadership Team. That could be particularly useful because the next phase is likely to involve decisions around technology, internationalisation, programme development, industry partnerships and the balance between academic education and practical hospitality skills.

What this means for students

For students, the leadership transition could translate into an even stronger emphasis on employability, practical learning, digital capability and leadership development. EHL already describes experiential education and real-world learning as central pillars of its teaching philosophy, and Schmitt’s incoming mandate explicitly places schools and students at the centre of the Group’s activities.

The bigger question will be how quickly the institution can translate that philosophy into programmes that reflect the changing requirements of employers. Hospitality students increasingly need to understand data, artificial intelligence, sustainability, finance, customer experience and organisational leadership alongside traditional hotel and restaurant operations.

Why the appointment matters for travel and tourism

The appointment of Schmitt comes at a moment when the global travel and tourism industry is being reshaped by technology, demographic changes and evolving traveller expectations. The companies competing for future tourism demand will require managers capable of combining commercial discipline with digital understanding, cultural awareness and strong people leadership.

That makes the leadership of institutions such as EHL relevant to the entire hospitality ecosystem. The graduates trained today will eventually manage hotels, resorts, airlines, restaurants, tourism organisations and service businesses, meaning decisions made inside hospitality schools can influence how the industry responds to its next generation of challenges.

EHL enters 2027 with a clear strategic test

Schmitt will officially take over on 1 January 2027, after a transition period designed to preserve operational continuity and prepare the Group’s next strategic cycle. His central task will be to protect EHL’s established academic reputation while ensuring that its programmes, campuses and industry relationships remain relevant to a hospitality sector changing at unprecedented speed.

The appointment therefore signals continuity and change at the same time. EHL is not abandoning the foundations built under Venzin, but the choice of its current Dean as the next CEO suggests that the institution wants its educational mission to become even more central as it moves into its next phase of global hospitality leadership.