LHW is owned by its members—created for hoteliers, by hoteliers in 1928. Nine decades later, Scherz serves as the sixth chairman in the company’s history. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Ernst Andrea Scherz, who also served as LHW chairman. In this role, Scherz is at the helm of LHW’s Executive Committee, which consists of seven hoteliers that represent the 60 plus shareholder members of LHW. Along with LHW’s management team and employees they will continue to connect and empower hoteliers to stay independent.
“Since a young age, LHW has always been very present in my life and close to my heart. This started in my childhood through my father. My family’s hotel, Gstaad Palace, has been a member of LHW for more than 60 years and my relationship with the company grew even deeper when my father held the position of chairman for 15 years,” said Scherz in a press note.
Scherz grew up in the hotel business at Gstaad Palace and studied at École Hôtelière de Lausanne. He worked for various hotels in the U.K, Switzerland, Italy and the U.S. including the Beau-Rivage, Savoy and InterContinental. Later, he returned home in 1996 and held the position of general manager in 2001. Besides his role at LHW, Scherz holds a board seat with Swiss Deluxe Hotels and the Gstaad-Saanenland Airport Association.
“Having served as chairman for the past 10 years, I have had the pleasure of working alongside Andrea on the Executive Committee. I have witnessed his exceptional leadership qualities and have every confidence that he will be a great success in his new role,” said Andrea Kracht, proprietor of Baur au Lac and previous chairman of The Leading Hotels of the World. “He is assuming this position at a critical time for LHW, as our company has not been immune to the challenges of the pandemic over the past two years. Andrea will be able to rely on the exceptional management team at LHW, and the unwavering dedication and talent from each and every member of staff. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to lead this group of the finest hoteliers in the world. I know I leave them in the most capable hands.”
