A SIMPLE VISION Hospitality pioneer Bicky Chakraborty has built one of Scandinavia’s largest hotel firms by following a family motto – and by keeping a long-term vision in mind By Linda Iliste TOBIAS BJÖRKGREN I guess I was the right man at the right place at the right time,” says Bicky Chakraborty with characteristic Swedish understatement. He may have been born and raised in Kolkata, but Chakraborty adapted quickly to the Swedish veneration of equality – as well as to the business landscape, building his Elite Hotels empire from the ground up. Now operating 32 hotels (with two more under consideration) and 40 pubs, as well as seven hotels, under the brand name The Bishops Arms, it is one of the largest hospitality firms in Scandinavia, and it surely required a bit more than a mere twist of fate, I say to him. But Chakroborty remains adamant. “My father’s motto bringing my five siblings and me up was ‘Plain living, high thinking’. Meaning, a certain type of job is less important than advancing and cultivating, academically and culturally, what you have up here,” he says and points to his temple. We meet at Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza in the chic area of Östermalm. Chakraborty lives close by and doesn’t have an office; this is usually where he sets up his meetings. It’s a crisp Friday morning and outside the building’s large windows sunshine is flooding the city. Inside, Chakraborty proves to be somewhat of a ray of sunshine himself, greeting everyone with a 33 NetJets
