Author: dave

Chief Operating Officer

After completing his training as hotel expert, and stint as a barkeeper in Munich, Michael Friedrich moved to South Africa. In the following years he gained valuable leadership experience as F&B Manager at the InterContinental Hotel Sandton Sun & Towers in Johannesburg and the Hilton Hotel Durban.

He left South Africa to study at the César Ritz College in Brig, Switzerland, before entering his father’s company in 2007 as Brand & Marketing Manager.

He gradually took on more responsibility shifting his focus towards the group’s operative area and, as his father’s designated successor, was made a member of the management board in 2014.

As Chief Operation Officer he now oversees all operative matters of Success Hotel Group and its hotels as well as its advancement and the constant optimization of the group’s internal procedures.

• Responsibilities

• Operative leadership of Success Hotel Group
• Optimization of internal procedures
• Company strategy
• Human resources

Chief Financial Officer

Paul Gonschor is a trained tax clerk and certified tax consultant. He worked with a tax consulting company in the Stuttgart area when he was assigned to Success Hotel Group’s account there.

In 2002 he completed an accountant training course and joined the then still small Success Hotel Group as Head of Accounting. He quickly rose to Commercial Manager and in 2014 was promoted to the executive board as Chief Financial Officer with power of attorney.

In 2017 he was named managing director and now oversees Success Hotel Group together with Michael Friedrich.

• Responsibilities

• Bookkeeping
• Accounting
• Contract Management
• Payroll Accounting
• Contract Administration

Chief Development Officer – Authorized Representative

Thomas Bosse is a trained restaurant specialist and state certified business economist for the hospitality industry.

He is one of the longest-serving staff members of Success Hotel Group. Even before he joined as Director of F&B and procurement in 2008 he had already been Deputy Manager of the Clubhotel Hochsauerland for five years. During this time the property was operated by Success Hotel Group under a management contract.

Thomas Bosse was given power of attorney and promoted to the executive board in 2014 as Chief Development Officer. His numerous responsibilities include all matters relating to the construction of the group’s new projects and properties as well as their technical configuration and furnishings as well as Success Hotel Group’s centralized purchasing department.

• Responsibilites

• Planning and construction of hotels
• FF&E
• Purchasing

Chief Strategy Officer – Authorized Representative

As Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Thomas Leib is part of the executive board and works closely with Manfred Friedrich, founder and owner of Success Hotel Group. His focus is on expansion and development strategy as well as acquisition and development of hotel projects.

Before he joined Success Hotel Group Dr. Thomas Leib spent several years in the US studying and teaching as an adjust professor and was assistant director at the School of Hospitality Management of Washington State University’s Campus Brig in Switzerland.
He has also been working as a free consultant with Success Hotel Consult since 2001.

His international career lead him, inter alia, to Steigenberger Hotels and Hilton Worldwide.

In 2017 he was promoted to authorized representative of Success Hotel Group and named managing director of Success Hotel Consult.

• Responsibilities

• Expansion and development strategy
• Acquisition and development of hotel projects

Director of Operations Accor Franchise

Marc Riewe has been with Success Hotel Group since 2006. A trained hotel expert he started his career at the Holiday Inn Frankfurt and later worked for the German Queens Group in several locations such as Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden.

He joined Success Hotel Group to open and manage the new Holiday Inn Express Baden-Baden and after four successful years became the General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart NeckarPark.

In October 2015 he was promoted to Director of Operations ibis Styles and is now in charge of all ibis Styles hotels operated by Success Hotel Group. Since 2017 he is in charge of all of Success Hotel Group’s Accor franchise brands and was named Director of Operations Accor Franchise accordingly.

Director of Sales and Revenue

Martin Pleiss left Germany soon after completing his training as hotel expert. He moved to the US for 1.5 years to gain international experience for his career in the hospitality industry.

Back in Germany he became the Sales Representative for the Holiday Inn Neuss and quickly worked his way to Director of Sales. At the same time he completed an extra-occupational education and graduated as a state certified business economist.

He joined Success Hotel Group in 2012 when he took the position of General Manager for the Holiday Inn Express Augsburg, which was under construction at the time. He successfully opened at managed the hotel for two years until the was promoted to Director of Sales in 2014 and joined Success Hotel Group’s Stuttgart headquarters.

Martin Pleiss almost immediately began creating a revenue department and his titel was changed in 2015 accordingly. His team now supports the group’s hotels in all matters related to rate determination, loading of channels as well as rate adjustment based on the strategies devised for each hotel.