Bjørn Gullaksen

Bjørn Gullaksen, a hospitality veteran with over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, is President of the Regent Luxury Group and Executive Vice President for Carlson Hotels Worldwide Managed Hotels & Resorts in the Americas.

In his position as President of The Regent Luxury Group, Gullaksen leads the brand globally.  He works with management leaders from The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), to develop the brand globally and provide overall strategic guidance for Regent Hotels & Resorts. He also chairs the Brand Council for Regent Hotels & Resorts and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. 

As Executive Vice President of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Managed Hotels & Resorts, he leads the company's managed portfolio in the Americas which includes 28 full-service and select-service properties under the brands of Regent Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM. 

He previously served as the company's executive vice president of Full Service Hotels, including Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

Gullaksen is noted for his proven leadership skills and his ability to continually produce results.  Gullaksen oversees the operations of Carlson's managed and owned hotels and leads the deployment of national, regional and local services to these properties, which currently span the United States and the Caribbean. The managed hotel and resort group are regularly included in pilot tests for developing new brand initiatives, product and service innovations, new systems and standards.

Before his appointment to executive vice president and brand leader for Radisson Hotels & Resorts in 2002, Gullaksen was a regional vice president of operations for Radisson Hotels & Resorts.  He has played a significant leadership role in helping to guide the success of the brand and working towards operational excellence to achieve total guest satisfaction.

In other experience, he served as senior vice president of operations for Brussels-based Rezidor SAS Hospitality, Carlson's partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).  He also held a variety of other senior executive and management roles with Radisson SAS, which is part of Rezidor.  Prior to this, he was with Westin Hotels. 

Gullaksen began his career in the tourism industry with Winge Travel Bureau in Norway as a tour guide to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Holland, while earning an advanced degree in law from the University of Oslo.  He completed the Advanced General Manager Training at INSEAD, School of Business Administration in Paris, France.  He also completed the University of Minnesota/Carlson School of Management Executive Program for senior executives.