Meet Our Lecturers

Business Administration

Vera Champagne, DBA

DBA in Business Administration
Atlantic International University, Hawaii USA

Dr Vera Champagne made a career switch to education in 2014, teaching for several years at Les Roches Marbella after accumulating over 25 years of extensive experience in the hospitality world. Her professional career includes working with chains such as Marriott and Intercontinental, as well as several smaller hotels and individual properties. Having worked across various operational departments, Dr Vera Champagne also served as the General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Toulouse, France. Throughout her career, she was involved in the management teams for the openings of three different properties and directed a company through the transition of rebranding while holding the role of Director of HR.

For numerous years, Dr Vera Champagne facilitated leadership programs across various European locations for the Marriott International chain. She provided training to managers on team building, evaluations, and train-the-trainer skills. She is fluent in English, French, and Dutch.

In her capacity as a consultant, she’s dedicated to overseeing training and development initiatives while also implementing effective HR policies and practices. She actively supports managers in optimising their potential, contributing to a holistic approach to organisational growth and excellence.

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Research and Professional Activities

1. Conferences

– Conference of ADHP – Associação dos Directores de Hotéis de Portugal on 15
March 2018. Presentation on Talent Management and retention in the hotel
sector, for the general managers of hotels in Portugal. Panel member.

2. Knowledge Transfer Activities

– Presentation of research and results of work “What drives hospitality students in
their choice of internship? A view from an international school” to group of Indian
professors and lecturers from faculty of government sponsored hospitality
management institutions and officials of ministry of tourism, government of India
in Hyderabad, the theme of the tour and presentations was “strengthening
capacities to capture market opportunities”. The presentation given to these
professors and staff had the aim to make them aware of internships opportunities,
threats and changes over the last decades based on research in that field. This
presentation took place in January 2019 to 30 participants).
– In 2020 and 2021, Supervisor of Research and applied projects of Master
students in the institution ‘Les Roches Marbella’, though their research is based
on secondary data only.
– In February 2021, taking part as a judge on the panel for the thesis investigation
of Pilar Martinez, part of her doctoral studies at Universidad Camilo José Cela.
Secondly, the interview done contributed to the book written by Pilar Martinez
(2022). “Claves de la Dirección Hotelera: Impresiones entre Directores”

3. Achievements

– 2021 Participation in the Design workshop for the MBA Online program of The
University of Liverpool on the 13th of January 2021.
– 2017-2018 Received the academic reward of ‘Student of the year’ at the
University of Liverpool and achievement rewarded to the student with the highest
average in the taught modules.