New At The Helm

Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, one of the world’s leading hospitality business school, has named Carlos Díez de la Lastra as Chief Executive Officer. Appointed by the Governing Board, he will succeed  Dr. Christine Demen Meier who is retiring. In 3 years at the helm of Les Roches she reached extensive achievements such as the launch of Spark innovation center and the new Master’s in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation.

Considered one of the 150 most influential tourism professionals in Spain, Carlos Díez de la Lastra brings 25 years of experience in the higher education sector, the last eight at the head of the Les Roches campus in Marbella, where he established the leadership of the institution in Spain and its expansion on an international scale. Before joining Les Roches, Díez de la Lastra was Vice President of Expansion and Director General of the European University of the Canary Islands in Spain as part of the global network of Laureate International Universities.

Carlos Díez de la Lastra has a proven track-record in establishing strong links with managers and businessmen in the industry. He contributes to different expert focus groups, including the committee created by Turismo Costa del Sol to deal with pandemic challenges and the Online Education Committee of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

He will leverage on this extensive experience and network to further position Les Roches at the forefront of Hospitality digitalization and innovation overseeing the expansion of the Les Roches international network comprising today campuses in Switzerland (Crans-Montana), Spain (Marbella), and China (Shanghai) with close to 3,000 students and a team of 320 employees.

Díez de la Lastra holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a master’s degree in Business Administration‐MBA from IEDE. He commented: “I welcome the challenge of leading one of the best educational institutions in the world and taking over from Dr. Christine Demen Meier’s magnificent legacy that will enable to start this promising new stage of Les Roches with a strong foundation. We are in challenging times, yet full of opportunities in the industry. Education will not only act as a springboard for hospitality and tourism growth, but also as a renovator of many of its longstanding concepts. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to lead this new stage at the global level with Les Roches”.