Austrian by origin, Gerfried started his career in 1964 with a classical chef apprenticeship in the Olympic winter games city of Innsbruck, Austria.

In the years of his professional evolution, he worked in many important and exceptional establishments.  Among those were the Bristol Kempinski in Berlin, the Grand Hotel and Sheraton in Stockholm, the luxury world cruise liner MS Kungsholm, the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, the Hotel Queen Elisabeth in Montreal, the Amsterdam Hilton, the Schiphol Airport Hilton and the Nile Hilton in Cairo where he was also Area Executive Chef for 22 Hilton Hotels in The Middle East, East Africa, Greece and Cyprus. He later became the Area Director of Food & Beverage for Hilton International for this same region.

In 1988, he was invited by Mövenpick Hotels International to implement their corporate Food & Beverage structure and management for all their hotels in Germany.
By the end of 1992 he moved with his family to Brazil, where he founded with his Brazilian partners his company Schipper & Thompson (www.STonline.com.br). With offices in Sao Paulo and Brasilia, Schipper & Thompson is one of the major and most respected Consulting and Supply Company in the hospitality industry in Brazil.

Gerfried Schipper can look back on a truly international career which allows him a unique insight into the global hospitality industry.