First Hotels with new CEO

27 September 2017

First Hotels is entering a new growth period in which the hotel chain will expand a number of services. Several new appointments are awaiting, and this week it was announced that First Hotels will also get a new top executive. Vibeke Raddum has been appointed CEO and will assume her new position on 1 October.

“Being given the chance to help create tomorrow’s hotel chain as well as elevate and further develop First Hotels will be very exciting. The company has a solid foundation, great potential and a well-established brand in a strong Nordic market,” stated Raddum.

Home to the hotel industry

For a number of years, Vibeke Raddum has helped promote Norway as a tourist destination, both through board positions at the Enterprise Federation of Norway (Virke) and Innovation Norway, but not least through her position at the incoming operator Tumlare. Here, Raddum has headed the departments for Norway and for Europe, but her career originally started in the hotel industry.

“It’s within the hotel industry I’ve grown up – literally. More specifically, at Sunnfjord Hotel in Førde. I have experience from various hotel chains, including Radisson SAS and Holiday Inn, and was trained at the Hotel School in The Hague (Netherlands). Returning to the hotel industry with experience from other parts of the value chain, I believe is a big plus,” says Raddum.

Procuring services from the hotel industry as well as promoting Scandinavia as a travel destination to foreign tourists necessarily provides a wider understanding of what the task of a hotel chain is.
“The years in Tumlare have taught me a lot about package deals and the importance of understanding the whole journey of the client. At the same time, it has been valuable to see Norway and Scandinavia in a global perspective. I think that will be a useful experience base at First Hotels.”

Growth phase

First Hotels has created several new key positions to meet tomorrow’s requirements and expectations from both guests and franchise hotels.

“First Hotels is a challenger in a Nordic hotel market, which is characterised by large and heavy players. The company has been through an impressive turnaround and is now characterised by a strong commitment to further ventures and growth.

The new CEO undoubtedly has great ambitions on behalf of First Hotels:

“Concrete goals I will set out in partnership with the management team once I have started, but my vision is that First Hotels is to help define the future hotel experience. We must utilise our role as a challenger to dare think differently and to assert ourselves a bit further,” says Raddum.

Asmund Haare, President of First Hotels and founder of the hotel group, is extremely pleased with the appointment.

“We have taken the time to find the right person to further develop First Hotels. Vibeke Raddum was our first choice for the position and I’m sure she has the qualities needed to achieve our high ambitions.”

Facts: Vibeke Raddum

Born: 1969

Experience: Several positions at Tumlare, including Head of Division for Norway and Europe, starting in the company in 2001. She has previously held positions at Ticket2Travel, Resultatpartner, Radisson SAS and Holiday Inn.

Directorships: Chairperson of the Tourism Section and Board Member of Virke, Chairperson of NIR (Norwegian Incoming Operators), Member of the Strategic Marketing Advisory Board at Innovation Norway and former Member of the Strategic Board for Tourism at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Assumes the new position on 1 October.