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The newly appointed general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street, is excited to move to China's capital with his family.
"When you think of China, you think of Beijing," Andrew Rogers said. "Beijing has a really deep culture. It's an intriguing place to be."
Rogers, who is also responsible for the Ritz-Carlton, Tianjin; the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Beijing; and other properties in China as the multi-property vice-president, previously spent three years as general manager of the Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou.
He witnessed great changes during his time in the capital of Guangdong province.
"In Guangzhou, there are many places with a long history of trading and commerce. The most impressive thing is the new CBD area," Rogers said.
"You can see the city has transformed in a very short time from a seaside port into an international city. Even more so with the free trade policy going on."
Rogers graduated from Ferris State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and recently returned to the United States to graduate from an MBA program jointly offered by the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and Lingnan College at Sun Yat-Sen University.
"You always have to continue to invest in yourself as a professional," he said, "study and continue to develop yourself."
Because his MBA study mostly took place within China, his classmates were mainly Chinese.
"That gave me a lot of insight into the social fabric of China," he said. "I think that was even more important for me than the course itself."
Rogers is father to three daughters, aged 5 to 15, whom he said have spent more time outside the US than in their home country.
"With that exposure to new culture and people, they can build their impression of the other side of the world. A greater perspective is a nice gift for them."
As a hotelier, he sees his job as taking care of two groups of customers.
"One is the paying customer," he said. "That has to be a priority. But another is the people who work in the hotel. We want to also make sure we take good care of the 'ladies and gentlemen' serving ladies and gentlemen in the hotel."
That work ethic and attention to detail serves him in good stead in his position with the Ritz-Carlton group.
"There is a need for good hotels, good service and products," Rogers said. "Guests love the experience, and we will continue to improve."
yejun@chinadailyusa.com
