Raymond Bickson new Chairman of Taj Lanka Hotels

Raymond Bickson has been appointed as the Chairman of Taj Lanka Hotels Plc.

Bickson is the Managing Director and CEO of The Indian Hotels Company Ltd., (IHCL), a division of India’s Tata Group with responsibility for all Taj Hotels operations and management, hospitality and travel subsidiary companies.

His hospitality career spans more than 30 years and four continents and joined Taj Hotels in January 2003 to oversee all luxury property operations. In July 2003, he was named Managing Director and CEO of IHCL.

Under his leadership, the Taj Group has seen rapid global expansion, with new developments and acquisitions in key world markets, including Africa, Australia, Bhutan, Dubai, lnclia, Maldives, Malaysia and the U.S. The Tai Group has formed strategic partnerships with other luxury hotel chains and cruise lines; developed innovative new products, including India’s first luxury safari lodges and tours, and the launch of the new Ginger Hotels, Gateway Hotels and Resorts and the Vivanta by Taj Brand.

Previously, Bickson served as Vice President and General Manager of The Mark in New York for The Rafael Group Hoteliers Monaco and with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for 15 years. His prior experience includes management positions with Regent International Hotels in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Puerto Rico, Melbourne and Shanghai, and training positions with Hotel Plaza Athenee Paris, Le Montreux Palace Switzerland and the Kahala Hilton Hawaii.

An American national, Bickson attended The Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in hospitality management by Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island,

Bickson is a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC); the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF); and the advisory boards of The Leading Hotels-of the World (LHVV), Cornell Hotel School Center for Hospitality Research and Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne. Recipient of the Corporate Hotelier of the World Award 2007, by HOTELS Magazine.