Kjell Rognoy appointed General Manager of Radisson Plaza Hotel Tianjin

Carlson Hotels has appointed Norwegian national Kjell Rognoy as General Manager of the Radisson Plaza Hotel Tianjin.

The Radisson Plaza is the premium extension of Radisson Hotels & Resorts. The 270-room property is located in the new financial hub of Hedong District and is scheduled to open by mid 2009.

An industry veteran with almost three decades of hospitality experience, Rognoy has worked in Europe, the United States, Asia and the Middle East for several international hotel groups including Starwood, Marriott and Mandarin Oriental. He was previously general manager of The Regent Shanghai.

In other experience, Rognoy was general manager at the five-star Sheraton Jeddah Hotel in Saudi Arabia, followed by the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition, he assisted the owners of JW Marriott, YTL Hotels & Properties, with the opening of the 35-storey luxury Ritz-Carlton Residences and the Starhill Conference Centre.

He was also deputy general manager at the Sheraton Kuwait Hotel where he led the property towards several international award wins, including ‘Best Hotel in Kuwait’ for three consecutive years by business publication, Euro Magazine. During his tenure at the hotel, Rognoy was awarded the ITT Sheraton President’s Award for his achievements.

Rognoy majored in Hotel and Restaurant Management with a diploma granted by the Government of Norway and also attended a Masters in Business Administration programme with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, during his tenure with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

“Kjell has a strong international background and an excellent track-record for achieving results and ensuring positive change and development in his previous roles. His ability to take on challenges and constantly innovate will be a key strength as we continue to grow the Radisson Plaza brand in China, particularly during these times of global economic slowdown,” said Jean-Marc Busato, managing director – Asia Pacific, Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

Carlson currently has more than 20,000 rooms in operation and under development across Asia Pacific, and is pursuing a plan to double its regional portfolio over the four year period of 2008 to 2012. Apart from the Radisson Plaza Hotel Tianjin, the group has another two Radisson hotels under development in China; the Radisson Hotel Luizhou which is scheduled to open next year and the Radisson Plaza Hotel Sanya Lu Hui Tou, which is scheduled to open in 2011.

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