Like a symphony conductor, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong excels at bringing individual talents together to orchestrate a memorable experience for each and every guest at his hotel. His commitment to showing genuine care for his team, his guests and his hotel is immeasurable.

Having served as General Manager of award-winning The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai for two years between 2007 and 2009, and with a varied career in the hospitality industry that has spanned Europe and the U.S.A. over the past 37 years, Rainer J.Burkle has been appointed as the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong since June 2009. He has played a pivotal role in the successful opening of this seventh Ritz-Carlton hotel on June 21, 2010.

Burkle also carries the title of Regional Vice President – mainland China of The Ritz-Carlton. He has been overseeing the properties in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Sanya, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Beijing and Tianjing in this capacity.

An 20-year veteran of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Burkle was most recently Vice President and Area General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin, where he also oversaw The Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Wolfsburg, Istanbul and Moscow. At the same time, he was also Managing Director of the Berlin Marriott Hotel.

Prior to that, Burkle held general manager positions in The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul and The Ritz-Carlton, Schlosshotel, Berlin. His stint in the U.S.A. included key positions in operations and food and beverage in The Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Naples, Palm Beach, Cleveland and Boston, which he joined as Assistant Food and Beverage Director in 1992.

Born in Baden-Baden in south-west Germany, Burkle held various food and beverage positions in the Claridge’s Hotel in London and The Berkeley, London. With a keen interest in culinary, Burkle began his career with an apprenticeship in his hometown. Following that, his culinary career included stints in the Noga Hilton International, Geneva, the Montreux Palace in Montreux, Switzerland and the 3-Michelin Star Traube Tonbach.

Burkle augmented his passion in gastronomy by qualifying as a Master Chef (Kuchen Meister Prufung) at the age of 24. Fluent in English, French and German, Burkle also completed the summer college at Cornell University in Marketing, Finance and Human Resources.