Dimitri Lera

Biography

Multi-award-winning Dimitri has received an Excellence in Education Award from the University of Essex for successfully embedding sustainability practices into the curriculum, and Platinum award in the Social Enterprise category at the Greengage Sustainability Awards. Dimitri's ambition to teach and his passion for hospitality led him to take up the position of lecturer at the Edge Hotel School at the University of Essex. Dimitri has successfully applied for a doctorate in the Sociology department at Essex. He takes part in charity endurance sport events and is participating in the PBP bike ride (Paris Brest Pari) later this year. He is also a polyglot, comfortable with most Western European languages. Dimitri is an alumnus of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland. When he was 27 he oversaw the opening of the first ever river cruise ship operating in Italy, as hotel manager. At 30 he was deputy hotel director on award-winning Silversea’s Silver Shadow cruise ship in the USA. "My passion for hospitality stems from an innate curiosity for different cultures and a love for food, which originates from Italy’s rich regional culture." His professional experiences range from restaurant manager to food and beverage manager, deputy hotel director to hotel manager. Having gained professional experiences abroad, in several European cities as well as the USA and Eastern Europe, Dimitri settled in London where he was managing a well-established restaurant. Some of the clientele included royalties, acclaimed artists and musicians, renown politicians, and industry leading entrepreneurs.

Qualifications

• PhD researcher University of Essex, (2026)

• Master Sociology & Management University of Essex, (2018)

• Post Graduate Certificate Education MFL LondonMet, (2017)

• BA (Hons) Edge Hotel School University of Essex, (2015)

• BA (Assoc.) École Hôtelière de Lausanne, (1997)