September 2008

Stanford University Names Michael Gratz Executive Director of Stanford Hospitality and Auxiliaries, Residential & Dining Enterprises

Michael Gratz is the new executive director of Stanford Hospitality and Auxiliaries. He is directly responsible for leading the team in providing high quality cuisine and exceptional service for the campus community and guests in all enterprise operations, including several campus franchises, retail cafés, Stanford Athletic
Concessions and stadium press box, campus vending, R&DE Cardinal Mall, Stanford Catering, and The Stanford Guest House (a 112-room hotel).

He will also manage the operations of the new 600-bed, graduate-student residence enterprise comprised of an executive conference center, convenience store, executive dining and a café. Gratz will also develop new business concepts and sustainable programs.

His professional background reflects a culture of excellence in student and fine dining,
hospitality and auxiliary services, and hotel management. As the former director of hospitality services at the University of Southern Californi, Gratz developed programs that increased revenue by 50 percent while repositioning under-performing
business units. With an extensive background in national/international hotel management, he has worked for The Mandarin Hotel and Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco; the Bristol Hotel in Paris, France; and the Suvretta House Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Fluent in French and German, Gratz has studied and apprenticed at international education
centers including the Hotel School, Lötscher, Switzerland; Alliance Française in France; the Hotel School, Mügelsberg, Germany; and is a graduate of the Hospitality Executive Program at Cornell University.

Gratz was honored with a National Leadership award from Food Management magazine and is a recipient of NACUFS’ Richard Lichtenfelt Award.

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