Horst Schulze co-founded Ritz-Carlton and wrote the operating standard the hospitality industry still runs on.

Schulze’s career began more than 65 years ago as a server’s assistant in a German resort town. He worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 1983, where he created the operating and service standards that became the industry benchmark.

As president and COO, Schulze ran $2 billion in operations worldwide. Under his leadership, Ritz-Carlton won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award twice, the only hotel company ever to win even one.

In 1991, HOTELS magazine named Schulze “corporate hotelier of the world.” In 1995, he received the Ishikawa Medal for his contributions to the quality movement. In 1999, Johnson & Wales University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree in hospitality management.

Schulze has since been named a “Leader in Luxury” by Travel Agent magazine and its sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor.

After leaving Ritz-Carlton, Schulze founded The Capella Hotel Group, where he managed some of the world’s most exclusive properties and continued to define the luxury hotel industry. Today, he serves on several boards, consults across industries, and recently completed a new book on building a culture of excellence.