Andrea Obertello is currently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in Milano, Italy. In this podcast, Andrea talks about her career choices and how she became General Manager in an industry that is predominately male. She talks about working in the iconic Milano Four Seasons Hotel, located in a 15th century convent, the second oldest Four Seasons hotel in Europe. Andrea compares hospitality in Italy to other places she has worked and analyses the changes she has seen in the hospitality industry over the past 10 years

Originally from Argentina, Andrea has worked at Four Seasons Hotels in Miami, Doha and Marrakech but she feels at home in Italy where her family originated from. Andrea is upbeat and positive when she talks about the challenges she has had to face in the hospitality industry and she shares some of her success stories and emphasizes the importance of creating and welcoming opportunities.

Finally, she gives our listeners insight into her leadership and communication styles and shares some of her hospitality philosophy and anecdotes.

Andrea holds a degree from Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland and began her career with Four Seasons as a receptionist in Uruguay. She has worked in many hotel positions during her career, which has led to her understanding of the many faceted aspects of running a successful hotel. She has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities Four Seasons has given her to work in different places such as South America, North America, the Middle East, Europe and North Africa.

Khulan Berger is currently the Regional Director at MY BLUE PLANET and the Swiss Coordinator of The Climate Reality Project Europe. In this podcast, Khulan explains why sustainable tourism has become such an important endeavour and how MY BLUE PLANET is working closely with companies to transition and implement sustainable practices.

Khulan describes what tools are being used to engage and inspire the hospitality and tourism sectors and what areas are particularly challenging. She also explains why it is important to reduce CO2 emissions before trying to compensate for them. In addition, Khulan explains how being more sustainable supports employee engagement while giving her insights into the limitations that the hospitality and tourism sectors face.

Finally, Khulan explains why sustainability is so important and why the hospitality and tourism sectors should make it a priority.

Khulan Berger is the Regional Director at MYBLUEPLANET and the Swiss National Coordinator of The Climate Reality Project Europe. Leading a dedicated team, she focuses on scaling impactful climate projects and programs in the French-speaking region of Switzerland. One of MYBLUEPLANET's programs includes ClimateActions4Companies, whereby her team works closely with companies from the touristic sector to implement climate actions, serving the transition to sustainable tourism. Her commitment lies in making a practical and tangible difference in the ongoing transition to a more sustainable future.

Arian Röehrle is the former president of AICR, The International Association for Deputy Managers and Front Office Managers of Luxury Hotels. In this podcast, Arian tells our listeners about this important networking organization and how it has grown into a well-established professional and educational entity. He discusses the importance of networking in the hospitality industry and why AICR has its place in this ever-changing field.

Arian also talks about his own career choices and path and why young people today should embrace the hospitality field. He gives our listeners insight into some of the challenges the field is currently facing, why training, mentoring and education are so important and how hospitality leaders and managers can improve their communication and leadership styles. He touches upon managing culturally diverse teams and how to create effective and motivated teams. Finally, Arian discusses the challenges of working in the hospitality field and having a healthy work / life balance.

After being employed in the hospitality industry for the last 15 years and working his way up from pageboy to general manager in 11 hotels across five countries, Arian and his wife Anja have founded A&A Hotel & Gastronomie Betriebs-GmbH. They plan on continuing to surprise and delight guests and staff by creating lasting relationships and memorable moments.