Glion Institute of Higher Education, one of the world’s leading hospitality business schools with campuses in the UK and Switzerland, has named Dr Michel Philippart as its new Managing Director.
Dr Philippart will take up his role at Glion on 15th August after five years at EDHEC Business School in France where he was Director of the MSc in Strategy Consulting and Digital Transformation, as well as Professor on Supply Strategies. He succeeds Georgette Davey, who will now head the Glion London campus after five years at the helm, during which time she has overseen numerous projects and achievements including the launch of three new Masters programmes in Luxury Management and Guest Experience, Hospitality, Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Real Estate Finance and Hotel Development.
For almost 20 years Dr Philippart has had teaching experiences in purchasing, supply chain and operations at different prestigious institutions: as lecturer at HEC Paris, Professor at Grenoble School of Management and Visiting Professor at Kedge and EM Lyon, among others. In his time at Grenoble he was a member of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Purchasing Management and a pedagogic director, managing trainer teams on multi-year global corporate development programmes (Europe, Asia, USA). At EDHEC, Dr Philippart’s main focus was on the business challenges presented by digital transformation of operations to capture sustainable competitive advantages.
He previously worked for the operations practices of Booz Allen (Chicago, Paris) and McKinsey & Company (Brussels, Geneva), helping large clients transform their approach to supply chain. At Pepsico’s Frito-Lay (Dallas, London, Bern), he developed and implemented an international purchasing strategy focusing on securing a privileged access to key supplier resources, strengthening competitive advantages. During his last corporate position, heading up global procurement at GSK Biologicals (Brussels), he transformed purchasing from a tactical and administrative function to a powerful supporter of strategic initiatives.
Dr Philippart will leverage on his extensive experience across academia, consulting and business to further position Glion at the forefront of hospitality digitalisation and innovation, overseeing around 1,600 students and a team of 250 employees. He will be responsible for leading three Glion campuses in Switzerland and the UK, driving and delivering further innovative strategies related to academic, operations and student experience. “I welcome the challenge of leading one of the best hospitality educational institutions in the world,” he said. “The hospitality industry is a territory of opportunity – and education is the key to transform this sector to capture the opportunities of a world facing profound mutations.”
Pierre Salles, Chair of Glion’s Governing Board, added: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Michel Philippart at the helm of Glion, and his extensive know-how and knowledge will support new academic developments for the institution to the benefit of future generations.”
Dr Philippart has co-authored two books on Strategic Supplier Management and Value Creation/Collaborative Sourcing (Presses Universitaires de Louvain 2005) and Les Achats collaboratifs (De Boeck 2012). He has also written articles in academic journals and trade magazines, and is an occasional speaker at professional conferences and for global corporations. He holds a DBA from Université Paris Dauphine (2016) and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management (1989), as well as a metallurgical engineering degree from the University of Liège (1983).
