Edward Read’s career offers a distinctly international view of British hospitality. Educated in the UK, shaped by leading hospitality groups across Asia, and later part of the opening chapter of Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London, Read has spent more than two decades moving between some of the world’s most demanding hospitality markets.
Today, he is applying that experience in Montrose, Colorado, where he leads Typhoon Hospitality. His current work may be far from London, but the professional foundation behind it remains closely connected to the standards and traditions of British hospitality.
A British foundation in hospitality
Read’s journey began at Oxford Brookes University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management in 2001. Rather than beginning his career in the UK, he moved to Asia, entering a rapidly developing hospitality market where international luxury brands were setting increasingly sophisticated expectations for service.
His career included roles with Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group, Mandarin Oriental, Swire Hotels, and Shangri-La. Across these organisations, Read developed an understanding of the operational discipline, guest attention, and consistency required by leading international hospitality brands.
His eight years with Shangri-La were particularly significant. The experience would eventually bring him back to Britain for one of the most recognisable hospitality projects in modern London.
Bringing Shangri-La standards to The Shard
One of the most important London chapters of Read’s career came with the opening of Shangri-La Hotel, At The Shard.
As part of the hotel’s task force, Read served as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage during its early days after opening. Located inside Renzo Piano’s landmark skyscraper on the south bank of the Thames, Shangri-La at The Shard introduced the brand’s approach to luxury hospitality to one of London’s most distinctive addresses.
The setting itself carried significant expectations. The Shard had quickly become one of the defining additions to London’s skyline, while the hotel’s dining and bar venues, including Ting and GONG, offered guests an experience built around both service and the city itself.
For Read, working at The Shard meant more than operating another luxury property. It placed him within London’s highly competitive hospitality environment, where international visitors, local guests, architecture, dining, and service converge. His role involved coordinating teams, refining operations, and helping establish the level of service expected from a globally recognised hospitality group in one of the world’s most visible cities.
That experience remains an important reference point in understanding his approach today.
From London to a global hospitality career
Read’s career did not stop with London. His work across Asia had already exposed him to different interpretations of luxury, while his experience at The Shard connected those international lessons back to the UK.
His professional recognition has also extended beyond hotel operations. In 2018, Read was inducted as an Officier into the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, one of the oldest wine guilds in the world, recognising his commitment to wine and fine hospitality.
He has also contributed to the hospitality profession through club management. Read served as Vice President on the board of the Club Managers Association of Hong Kong (CMAHK) and maintains membership with the Club Managers Association of America and its Mile High Chapter in Denver.
His industry involvement has included mentorship and professional judging as well. In 2025, he served on the judging panel for Master Shaker 2025 at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club on September 16, where industry professionals evaluated emerging mixology talent.
Together, these experiences reflect a career built not around a single hospitality market, but around the movement of ideas between them.
What London taught him about hospitality
London occupies a distinctive position in Read’s professional story because it brought together many of the influences that had shaped his career.
The city’s hospitality industry operates at an unusual intersection of international tourism, established British service traditions, luxury retail, food and beverage culture, and a constant flow of global talent. Working at The Shard placed Read directly within that environment at a landmark property representing both London’s architectural ambition and its international hospitality appeal.
Those lessons now travel with him.
In 2026, Read moved to Colorado’s Western Slope to take the helm at Typhoon Hospitality in Montrose. His responsibilities include three restaurants and a boutique hotel currently under construction, a family-run 50-key property inspired by Western Slope Colorado.
The location is dramatically different from London. Montrose sits near the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the San Juan Mountains, with its hospitality economy closely connected to the region’s outdoor, wine, and tourism industries.
Yet the underlying question is familiar: how can a hospitality business create an experience that feels distinctive, consistent, and worthy of its surroundings?
Translating London experience to a local setting
Read’s move to Montrose illustrates how hospitality practices developed in major international markets can be adapted to smaller destinations.
The goal is not to recreate London in Colorado. Instead, his current work draws on the experience accumulated through British education, international luxury brands, and his time at one of London’s most prominent hotels, while responding to the character of the Western Slope.
That means building restaurants and a hotel around the local community, creating opportunities for local staff and suppliers, and developing an experience connected to the region rather than detached from it.
In that sense, London remains part of the story even thousands of miles away.
Read’s career began with British hospitality education, developed through international hotel groups, and reached a significant milestone at The Shard. His current role in Colorado represents another stage of that journey: taking lessons shaped by London and other global hospitality centres and adapting them to a very different community.
For London, a city whose hospitality industry has long influenced how hotels, restaurants, bars, and service are experienced around the world, that international exchange is familiar. Read’s career simply traces it in reverse: from the UK to Asia, back to London, and now onward to the American West.
From the upper floors of The Shard to the landscape of the San Juans, Edward Read’s career demonstrates how hospitality expertise can travel without losing its origins. His current work in Montrose may be local in its focus, but behind it is a professional foundation that began in Britain and was significantly shaped by London.
