Bicky Chakraborty

Chakraborty came to Sweden from Kolkata, India in 1966 to study Sociology at the University of Stockholm. He saw that student dormitories were empty over the summer and began pushing the dorm Domus as a discount hotel to rent out those who were located near Stureplan in Stockholm. Chakraborty managed to acquire these properties from the student association in private hands and they became due plate in his hotel empire. Later he went on to buy the rundown city hotel and rehabilitate it. In 1980, he bought Hotel in London, a historic city hotel from 1858. At this time there were several run down city hotels around the country. Swedish hospitality was most focused on motels near urban areas. Chakraborty saw this opportunity to revive the ancient city hotel tradition, but in a more modern form. Bicky Chakraborty now owns and operates the hotel chain Elite, which covers several historically important city hotels in the country, including Hotel Knaust in Sundsvall, Hotel Mollberg in Helsingborg, Hotel Savoy in Malmö and the City Hotel in Västerås. Bicky Chakraborty's hotel business is the only Swedish-owned hotel chain in Sweden.[3][4]

In 2008, Bicky Chakraborty was awarded the Royal Patriotic Society Business Medal for having contributed to the development of Swedish industry. He is also the winner of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awarded by the Government of India.[5] Chakraborty is also member of the Jönköping University Foundation.[6]

Chakraborty married Ylva Lindberg, the sister of Princess Marianne Bernadotte.