THE FOUNDER
Dr. Mario Saba is the founder of Higher Hospitality Academy of Switzerland, an academy that undertakes applied research projects in Information Systems (IS) and converts hospitality values into competitive advantages across all industries. Mario is a Professor of IS, he has been teaching IS-related subjects since 2009 at higher education institutions in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East region.
Dr. Saba has extensive experience in professional leadership contexts. He has developed coaching and approaches for professionals across all industries.
Mario is an expert in weak signals pertaining to informational intelligence. Respectively, he undertakes applied research that tackles IS technology uses, decision-making tools, and artificial and augmented intelligence. He focuses on systemic interactions which are not easily apprehended by the classical approaches in management and publishes the results of his methodological and practical contributions in peer-reviewed international journals.
Dr. Saba leads projects and provides advisory services which transpose weak signals into strong factual touchpoints.
Mario holds a Ph.D. in Management Science – Information Systems, Two master’s degrees in marketing and Hospitality Management, and a PGCert in Higher Education from French and English Universities.
INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Dr. Swanger is the Founding Director of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University.
In September 2022, the United Nations recognized her as one of the top 50 leaders in the world whose work is transforming health and wellbeing for aging populations.
She is also an associate professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management and the Associate Dean of Inter-College Partnerships in the Carson College of Business, starting back in 2000.
Nancy has over 40 years of restaurant experience as a co-worker, manager, district manager, and owner. She and her husband, Larry, owned and operated up to eight Subway restaurants from 1988-2017, and they own an independent pizza concept named Gambino’s and the Varsity Diner in Moscow, Idaho. Her research interests lie in the areas of quick-serve restaurant operations, food safety/sanitation, hospitality curriculum, and senior living management operations.
Dr. Roger Obeid has an extensive educational and career path: Glion Institute M.S in Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Cornell University in Hospitality Management, Mc Gill University in Marketing Management, USCP-UAP MBA; University of Montpellier Ph.D.
Roger is a university lecturer with more than 30 years of practice in hospitality consultancy, engineering, and design across different continents (Americas, Africa Europe, and the Middle East). He has been an active member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International Association, and he spent more than 15 years part of the board of trustees where he developed a strong international network.
Dr. Obeid has been volunteering in various associations. He was inspired to dedicate intense work time to the inclusion of motor and hearing impaired persons, by allowing them to be a strategic workforce for the hospitality industry.
His broad professional curiosity, backed by creativity and solid technical versatility, lead him to implement innovative solutions in this challenging field. Respectively, this accomplishment was rewarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), when he received the award of innovation for the year 2021.
Dr. Jeff Joireman is a Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Marketing and International Business at Washington State University, where he teaches consumer behavior, marketing research, and statistics. Jeff’s research focuses on consumer behavior, responses to service failures, and transformative consumer research (e.g., corporate social responsibility, sustainability, health behavior, and financial decision making). He has published 70 articles in leading international business journals, including Journal of Retailing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. Jeff has co-authored a book with Paul Van Lange, titled How to Publish High-Quality Research, has reviewed over 200 articles, and served as Co-Editor in Chief for the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Jeff’s publications have been cited over 12,000 times, and he has earned numerous honors and awards including two Fulbright Scholarships, multiple Dean’s Excellence Awards, two Outstanding Faculty Service Awards, an Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, and the Department of Marketing’s Professor of the Year Award.
Dr. Peter Saba is a Professor of Information Systems at EMLV Business School (Paris, La Défense). He is director of the Master’s program in Management Information Systems. He conducts research on digital maturity and readiness, as well as on conflict prevention before and during IT implementation. Peter is author of several book chapters and articles related to user resistance & conflict prevention and digital transformation initiatives. He is also co-founder of Saba Business Circle (SBC), a European consulting firm specializing in innovation networks and management. Previously, Peter worked for several years in the field of innovation financing, and more recently, as a research director of In Extenso Innovation Croissance, a Deloitte France entity.
Pascal Christian is a senior Lecturer at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland where he specializes in Hospitality Management course development and delivery (remote & in-class). He is also accredited from Derby university with the distinguished PGCE program certificate to manage learning at an advanced level. In his teaching career of 12 years to date, Pascal has developed course programs at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and as well, supervises thesis workloads at both levels of discipline. Before his teaching role, Pascal owned a successful SAP Consultancy company headquartered in London that he ran for 10 years. During this time, he was actively engaged in developing and delivering varieties of end-user training materials for “Train the Trainer”, “Super User” and “End User” training courses. Modular areas covered included FI CO. He progressed to Team Lead and Project Manager. He established standards, methodologies and practices for other Project managers to follow. His areas of expertise saw him providing consultancy services across many European countries (12) and as far afield as The Philippians, Thailand, South Africa and Panama.
Dr. Apostolos Ampountolas is an Assistant Professor of Finance and Revenue Management at Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. He holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Exeter, UK. Prior to joining academia, he enjoyed an 18-year successful international career in travel and hospitality and provided consulting services to the industry sector. He supported hospitality firms throughout Europe, specializing in pricing optimization models and revenue performance. His research specializes in hospitality finance and data analytics, including pricing optimization, consumer behavior, risk management, forecasting model analyses, financial analysis of companies’ performance, investment markets volatility, and high–dimensional big data analyses by utilizing machine learning techniques and consumer choice models. He is an active member of the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business (IMA), the International Institute of Forecasters (IIF), and the INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section.
Frederick Fung is the Chairman (ACCESS) Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Start-ups of Singapore. He was part of the core team in the development of the Code of Practice facilitated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and developed in consultation with The Association of Banks in Singapore. He conducted the Independent Assessment Report for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) 3rd party solutions provider. As the Director of ACCESS NODE, he developed the first Diploma in Blockchain in Singapore with PSB Academy launching in Q2 2022.
About ACCESS
ACCESS is a non-profit organization for Singapore’s cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Members represent a spectrum of businesses within the Singapore blockchain and cryptocurrency space, including exchanges, merchant transaction services, vending machine suppliers and miners, and abide by a Code of Conduct that aligns with our mission statement. ACCESS has grown its membership from 7 companies since its establishment in 2014 to over 400 companies today.
About ACCESS NODE
ACCESS NODE is a consultancy offshoot launched by ACCESS. Leveraging our in-house expertise and talent network, ACCESS NODE offers insights and execution capability to build our thought leadership and market growth to businesses seeking strategic impact in the new frontier of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Mr. Tandin Dorji, coming from the picturesque Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, brings a wealth of expertise in corporate and legal realms. Having served as a former public prosecutor, Mr. Dorji currently holds the position of Deputy Managing Director (Corporate & Legal) at a prominent group company.
His leadership and expertise extend across diverse sectors, including aviation, telecom, banking, manufacturing, insurance, hospitality and real estate projects, and trading. Beyond his corporate pursuits, Mr. Dorji received a special distinction from the Prime Minister of Bhutan in terms of his voluntary commitment to bridging gender gaps both in the Kingdom and on a global scale. His contributions aim to diminish gender-related disparities, marking a commendable effort for societal well-being.
Tandin is a distinguished EMBA alumnus of a reputable Business School in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also accomplished a bachelor of Laws degree.
The Concept
The concept behind Higher Hospitality Academy of Switzerland is rooted in Hospitality Values that go beyond the frames of Hotels’ businesses.
Today, the Hospitality and Tourism industry concerns mainly four sectors:
1. Food and beverage, 2. Travel and Tourism, 3. Lodging and 4. Recreation
At Higher Hospitality Academy of Switzerland, we apply Hospitality concepts across all industries in such a way to bring definitive answers to the needs of businesses in terms of outstanding quality services.
Based on an applied-research-specific approach to informational discernment, our solutions lead to real business growth, competitive advantage, and quality experiences. The breakdown of our services is clearly formulated on the services page.
Higher Values:
The study of the etymology of Hospitality reveals historical facts about deeper Values that go above the actual frames of the hospitality industry, represented in its four sectors The origin of the word “Hospitality” is rooted in two Latin words: “Hospes” and “Hostis”. “Hospes” refers also to “Hospitalis”, from which the word “Hospital” comes. “Hostis” refers to a “Host”, a “Guest” or a “Visitor”. The Latin dictionary brings more precision about Hospitality in which “Hostis”, or ” Host” refers also to a “stranger”. We adopt the perception of Hospitality that surpasses the classical understanding of a Host as a “Client” or “King”. Moreover, historical evidence has shown that the original meaning of a host, overcomes the fact of being a simple “stranger”. In this sense, in ancient books, a “Stranger” can be defined as an “Enemy” too. Finally, our values at Higher Hospitality Academy of Switzerland give high importance to the original Hospitality, where exceeding expectations by adopting a specific approach to information, is the norm.
Vision
We believe in the Good News as the highest information in terms of value, and in Hospitality as the highest act in terms of the acceptance of the Good News. Therefore, we trust Hospitality is a virtue for individuals and organizations. We understand it is a source for prosperity for all businesses, and we aim to induce quality change in the world by spreading hospitality values across all industries.
Mission
We help people and businesses from all industries to achieve competitive advantage and increase profitability, by providing strategic information and impactful services based on Hospitality Values.
Values
Our values are sourced in the discernment of an emblematic figure of Switzerland, “Nicholas of Flüe” who has convinced the cantons to avoid civil war back in 1481. Thus, he contributed to the bonding of the Swiss Confederation. On a scientific register pertaining to information, our applied research uses informational discernment to foster cooperation within the human, social and technological systems. Furthermore, our values are rooted in Swiss Hospitality principles. They are candles with never-ending lights, reflecting the rays of quality, experience, innovation, leadership, creativity, ethics, and excellence of services. We touch the substance of Hospitality through information-based actions that lead to collective intelligence, growth, sustainability, and profit.
The Reasons
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” Henri Ford.
In today’s global competitive settings, something qualitative is missing. Think about businesses, products, services and experiences that failed just because Quality was not as it is expected to be.
“Thank God for competition. When our competitors upset our plans, they open infinite possibilities of our own work to us”. Gil Atkinson
The fierce competition in the markets, the lack of visibility and the incapacity to cope with change have induced a big need for quality products and services, and more specifically the need to create memorable clients experiences.
Internet has shifted power from suppliers to customers. The web and social media push firms to be more transparent in relating to their clients. However, if firms know what to do, most of the time they still do not know how to make a difference. The role of hospitality is to give power to firms by fostering their authenticity when they are exposed to image, reputation and performance vulnerabilities.
There are problems of dissonance between attaining business objectives and the need to consider clients voices and experiences. These defaults are mostly amplified when the urgency to react to instant difficulties, prevails on the purpose of detail brought up by Hospitality Values. So, instead of embracing Hospitality, it is ignored. Typically, what happens is that unsolved (known) problems, and the lack of awareness of other hidden problems, (unknown until they are revealed), produce organizational indifference and lead to business failure.
We provide services to all industries, based on hospitality values. Under this perspective, we shift your business from statements to innovative experiences, so you attain competitive advantage.