What is ESI Executive Search International?

ESI Executive Search International is a boutique executive search firm specialising in luxury hospitality leadership. Founded in 1977 by Bernd Wosgien in the United States, the firm moved its centre of gravity to Italy in 1997 under Stefano P. Biscioni, and has been continued since 2025 by Larissa Zwart. Today ESI operates from Piazza del Popolo 18 in Rome, with a trusted international network and hubs across Europe and Middle East. ESI serves hotel chains, hotel owners, hotel investors and hotel management operators with discreet executive search for General Manager and senior leadership roles, alongside the proprietary CADT assessment for owners who wish to evaluate candidates in depth. The firm works with a deliberately small number of engagements each year, in order to maintain the standards that have defined the practice for nearly half a century.

When was ESI founded, and by whom?

ESI was founded in 1977 in Florida by Bernd Wosgien, a pioneer of specialised hospitality executive search. Bernd recognised, before most of his contemporaries, that placing senior hotel leadership requires distinct expertise that generalist search firms cannot easily provide. He built the firm on three foundations: integrity, discretion, and the refusal to treat leadership as a commodity. In 1997 Bernd invited Stefano P. Biscioni, an Italian hotelier with deep operational experience, to open and lead an ESI office in Italy. Stefano became the firm's principal from then until his sudden passing in May 2023. The present chapter, led by Larissa Zwart since 2025, continues the work that Bernd and Stefano established. The House has now been serving luxury hospitality for forty-eight years.

The House of ESI is led today by Larissa Zwart, who began her own career in hospitality executive search at ESI Italy in Rome between 2001 and 2004, working directly with Stefano P. Biscioni. After two decades of building an international hospitality search practice from the Netherlands, Larissa took over all the assets and activities of ESI in March 2025, with the full endorsement of the Biscioni family. Larissa is supported by a small senior team and a trusted international network. The leadership succession from Bernd Wosgien to Stefano Biscioni to Larissa Zwart represents three generations of continuity in the same craft, with the same commitment to discretion, integrity and the long view.

Where is the ESI headquarters located?

The House of ESI is headquartered at Piazza del Popolo 18, 00187 Rome, Italy. The office sits on one of the most historic squares in Rome, where the Egyptian obelisk of Augustus has stood since 10 BC and the twin Baroque churches have framed the piazza since the seventeenth century. This is more than a postal address. Working from Rome anchors the House inside the Italian school of hospitality, which has shaped much of what the world considers excellent in luxury hotels. From this centre of gravity, the firm serves clients and candidates across Europe and Middle East, travelling to where the work requires us.

What does ESI mean by 'the House'?

The phrase 'the House' is used at ESI to describe the firm in the way the great European Maisons describe themselves. A House, in this older sense, is held together by standards inherited and defended over generations, by relationships maintained over decades, and by a clear identity that is not interchangeable with any competitor. For ESI, the House language signals that the firm is not a transactional brokerage but a custodial practice. The House holds, for a time, the trust of an owner about to make a leadership decision and the trust of a candidate about to make a career decision. It does so quietly, with the courtesy that hospitality itself deserves.

How does ESI's executive search process work?

An ESI search begins with listening. The first conversation with the owner is conducted by telephone or in person, never by email, and focuses on understanding the real reason for the leadership change rather than the official one. From this conversation we develop a written brief that is co-created with the owner over the following week. Once the brief is agreed, the search itself is conducted slowly and confidentially. We approach a deliberately small longlist of qualified candidates, conduct multiple in-depth conversations with each, and only after careful triangulation do we present a shortlist of two to three to the owner. The CADT assessment is offered at this final stage when the owner wishes to understand each candidate in greater depth before deciding. From first conversation to placed candidate, a typical search takes four to six months.

How long does it take to hire a hotel General Manager through ESI?

A typical General Manager search at the House of ESI takes four to six months from first briefing to accepted offer. The pace is deliberate. We invest more time than many competitors in the brief and in candidate assessment, because appointments at this level shape the property for six to ten years and deserve careful consideration. Faster searches are possible when the right candidate is already known to us from previous engagements, but we do not promise speed as a service. We promise the right appointment. For pre-opening searches, where the role exists before the property does, we recommend beginning the conversation twelve to eighteen months before the planned opening.

What is the typical cost of an executive search engagement with ESI?

ESI works on a retained search basis. Fees are agreed in advance with the client, structured in stages tied to the search milestones, and reflect the seniority of the role, the complexity of the brief, and the geography involved. As a general guide, the engagement fee for a General Manager search at a five star property is calculated as a percentage of the first year total compensation of the placed candidate, in line with the established standards of senior executive search internationally. CADT assessment, when included, is invoiced separately. We discuss fees openly during the second conversation with the owner, after the brief has been clarified, so that the financial framework is transparent before any commitment is made.

Does ESI work with pre-opening hotels?

Yes. Pre-opening searches are among the most demanding work the House undertakes, and among the most rewarding. The pre-opening General Manager will assemble a team of two to three hundred people in a matter of months, set the operational standards that the property will hold for years, and shape the relationship with both the owner and the brand from day one. For pre-opening engagements we test specifically for previous opening experience at a comparable level, and we frequently use the CADT assessment because character matters disproportionately in the pre-opening phase. We recommend beginning the conversation twelve to eighteen months before the planned opening date.

Does ESI guarantee placement, and what is the retention rate?

The House of ESI offers a standard replacement guarantee for placed candidates within the first twelve months, applicable when the candidate departs voluntarily or is dismissed for cause. The terms are documented in each engagement letter and reflect customary practice in senior executive search. More important than the guarantee, however, is the retention record. Across decades of placements, the great majority of leaders we have placed have remained at their property for the full term of their initial contract or longer, and many have moved into more senior roles within the same group over time. This is the natural result of slow assessment, careful matching, and the long relationships the House maintains with both owners and placed candidates after the appointment is made.

How does ESI ensure confidentiality during a search?

Confidentiality is one of the three foundations on which ESI was built in 1977, alongside integrity and craft. Our entire operating practice is designed around it. Sensitive briefings are conducted by voice, never by email. Written records are minimal and held under restricted access. Candidate names are never shared with the owner without the candidate's explicit consent for that specific search. Our team is small and senior by design, so that fewer people handle each engagement. We do not post about searches on social media, ever. The clients and candidates who matter know what we do, and they know it from direct experience and from the long quiet record of the House across forty-eight years.

What makes ESI different from generalist executive search firms?

The House of ESI works only in luxury hospitality, only at senior level, and only on a deliberately small number of engagements per year. This is the structural difference. Generalist firms operate at scale across many sectors, with broad databases and standardised processes. ESI operates in depth within a single sector, with relationships maintained over decades and assessment conducted personally by senior consultants. Concretely, this means an ESI search is conducted by a principal of the House from first conversation to placed candidate, not delegated to junior staff. It means we know the leading candidates personally and have often known them for many years. For senior leadership in luxury hospitality, we believe the boutique approach is the more honest one.

How does ESI help hospitality professionals?

The House of ESI exists, in part, to support senior hospitality professionals through the most consequential moments of their careers. We help in three principal ways. First, we conduct confidential career conversations, listening carefully to where you are, where you wish to go, and what would constitute the right next step. Second, we approach you discreetly when an opportunity in our active search portfolio matches your profile and aspirations. Third, we maintain long term relationships with senior leaders we have placed or known over years, supporting them through subsequent career decisions. Everything begins with a confidential conversation, by telephone or in person.

Is it free for candidates to work with ESI?

Yes. Candidates are never charged a fee by ESI. The House is engaged and paid by the hiring organisation in every search we conduct. This is the standard practice in senior executive search and the only ethical model in our view. A search firm paid by the candidate has a structural conflict that would compromise the quality of the matching. What candidates do invest is time. A serious conversation with us takes one to two hours initially, with further conversations as a search progresses. The CADT assessment, when applicable, takes several hours of structured interview. We respect this investment by being thorough, honest, and discreet throughout the process.

How can I submit my CV to ESI?

You can submit your CV through the Upload your CV form on the Contact page or the For Candidates page of this website. Once received, your CV is reviewed personally by a senior member of the House. If your profile aligns with current or anticipated searches, we will contact you to arrange a confidential conversation. If your profile is one we wish to keep on our radar for future opportunities, we will let you know. In either case, your CV is held in strict confidence and never shared with any party without your explicit permission.

What levels of hospitality professionals does ESI place?

The House places senior hospitality leaders. The core of our work is at General Manager level and above for luxury hotels, palace properties, resorts, and hotel groups. We also place senior directors below the General Manager: Director of Rooms, Director of Food and Beverage, Executive Chef at flagship properties, Director of Sales and Marketing, Director of Finance, and Group level operational and commercial leaders. For pre-opening hotels we frequently assemble the entire senior leadership team in coordinated searches over several months. We do not place line staff or supervisory roles.

Does ESI place candidates internationally?

Yes. The House of ESI operates internationally. Our active candidates and clients sit across Europe and Middle East, with established relationships in Italy, the wider Mediterranean, the Levant, the United Kingdom, the Benelux region, the German speaking world, and selected Asian markets. We routinely place leaders across borders, including international executives moving into Italian properties and Italian leaders being placed at international destinations. The headquarters in Rome serves as the centre of gravity, with travel to client and candidate locations as the work requires.

What is the difference between executive search and headhunting?

The terms executive search and headhunting are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, but in the senior hospitality industry they have distinct meanings. Executive search refers to a structured, retained engagement in which the search firm conducts a defined, comprehensive search for a specific senior role on behalf of a client, with a written brief, a documented process, and a contractual relationship including a guarantee period. Headhunting, in the proper sense, refers to the discreet, often opportunistic approach of a specific named senior leader to discuss a possible opportunity. The House of ESI conducts both.

How is the luxury hospitality job market in 2026?

The luxury hospitality leadership market in 2026 is unusually tight. Demand has remained strong across most luxury segments, supported by the post-pandemic recovery, the Italian Jubilee Year of 2025, and continued investment in heritage properties and new luxury developments across Europe and Middle East. Supply, by contrast, has not kept pace. The number of senior leaders with proven five star pre-opening or repositioning experience is finite and well known to the specialist firms. The practical implication for owners is that meaningful searches now need to begin earlier than they did a few years ago.

Which roles are most in demand in luxury hotels right now?

The most consistent demand in 2026, based on our active search portfolio and conversations with owners across Europe and Middle East, is for pre-opening General Managers with proven experience at five star or ultra luxury level. The pipeline of new openings, particularly in Italy, the Mediterranean, and the Levant, has produced sustained demand that exceeds the available pool of leaders. Beyond pre-opening GMs, we see strong demand for Group level operational leaders at growing hotel collections, Executive Chefs for flagship restaurants within luxury properties, and Director of Sales and Marketing leaders with expertise in the high end leisure segment.

[PLACEHOLDER, REPLACE] A wide aerial view of the Mediterranean coast at dawn, suggesting the global luxury hospitality market.

News

The State of Luxury Hospitality Leadership in 2026

March 20, 2026

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Written by

ESI Editorial Team

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