A graduate of the Ecole Hôtelière in Lucerne and the Ecole de Commerce in Basle, Marco Torriani has 25 years of experience in the international hotel industry.  He began his career in Switzerland at the Belvedere Hotel in Davos and the Hotel Drei Könige am Rhein in Basle, before moving on to a variety of managerial positions in South Africa.

In 1978 he joined Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts as Executive Assistant Manager at Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City. Montreal was his next stop, where he became Executive Assistant of Le Quatre Saisons for the Canadian Four Seasons Group.

It was in Montreal that he met the legendary hotelier Georg Rafael, then with Regent International Hotels. Rafael appointed him General Manager of Le Parc Regent, from where he moved to the Mayfair Regent Chicago. Back in Europe, and still working for Regent, he took charge of the extensive renovation of the Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf.

In 1988 the Breidenbacher Hof became the first hotel in the newly formed Rafael Hotels Ltd., and Marco Torriani became Georg Rafael's first partner. The following year he moved to Geneva to become General Manager of the then Hotel du Rhône, and was again involved in a complete renovation program, repositioning the hotel amongst Geneva's top properties.

In 2000, the hotel was acquired by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.  It has since received several accolades, and thanks to his people-orientated management style Marco Torriani has consistently maintained the hotel’s position as one of the very best in Europe.

On a personal level, Marco Torriani is a keen sportsman and particularly enjoys playing ice hockey; he comes from a family of professional hockey players.  He is also a classical music lover and consequently strongly supports many of Geneva’s musical initiatives, including The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the various music festivals which take place in the region.  He adamantly believes that a hotel has a duty to support the local culture and put something back into the community.

Marco Torriani has deservedly been voted Hotelier of the year by Leaders magazine.  He is the committee leader for the 2018 Winter Olympic bid in Geneva and Switzerland and served on the Executive Committee of Geneva Tourism Board.  He is also President of the Board of