Bernd Wosgien, who founded ESI in 1977, is a native Berliner, was educated in Germany, France and England. His apprenticeships took place in prestigious hotels of Europe and South America, and he has held senior management positions on unit, regional, and corporate levels in the U.S. and U. K. He graduated from the Hotel School of Berlin; the Rackow Institute; and attended Cornell, Northwestern and Roosevelt Universities. Member of the Savoy Gastronomes of London, received the Waldorf Astoria Distinguished Alumni Award and the 1976 Ivy Award for outstanding hotel operations, and is a member of the Global Hoteliers Club, having worked on three continents, and a member of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs. He is fluent in English, German, Spanish and French.