The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced Tom Flanagan as Area Vice President Nordics. He succeeds Thomas Engelhart who has resigned from his position. Tom Flanagan takes over responsibility for Rezidor’s portfolio of more than 60 hotels with 15,000 rooms in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland; effective 1st March 2015.
Flanagan has been with Rezidor since 1999, most recently as Area Vice President Eastern Europe & Russia. In his new position he will be based in Rezidor’s Area Support Office in Stockholm and continue to report to Olivier Harnisch, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer.
“We are delighted to welcome such an experienced and results-driven hotelier like Tom to the Nordics, our homeland and most important mature market. Building on our Scandinavian heritage, our strong brand awareness in the Nordic countries, and our global expertise Tom and his team will further develop and strengthen Rezidor’s position as the leading international hotel operator in the Nordics”, said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO of Rezidor.
“I look forward to steering our Nordic journey. The region is an essential part of our business – Norway alone is Rezidor’s biggest EBITDA contributor. We are committed to drive our area performance to the optimum level and to constantly add value for our guests, owners and shareholders”, commented Tom Flanagan.
Over the next three years, Rezidor will invest more than €100M to upgrade the group’s Radisson Blu flagships in Nordic key locations like Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. The extensive renovation and refurbishment programmes with a focus on guest rooms and public areas have started and are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
“These significant investments following our successful rights issue enable us to create state-of-the-art Radisson Blu properties where our passionate people offer contemporary, compelling services – in line with our unique ethos Yes I Can!”, added Tom Flanagan.
Tom Flanagan was born in Ireland. He holds a Diploma and B.A. Degree in Hotel Management from Galway Regional Technical College and Demontfort University Birmingham. His first positions with Rezidor were Service Manager at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Scandinavia Copenhagen and Front Office Manager at the Radisson Blu Hotel Beijing. In 2002 he became Hotel Operations Manager at The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel Manama – followed by positions as Hotel Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg and as General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel Galway. In 2008 Tom Flanagan was appointed District Director Turkey, Azerbaijan & China, based in Istanbul; and since 2009 he has been working as Area Vice President Eastern Europe & Russia, based in Moscow.
