Chris Franzen

Respected general manager Chris Franzen is back in Qatar, now in charge of the brand-new Waldorf Astoria Lusail. It has been close to two years since the Swiss hotelier has worked in operations, spending that time in advisory roles in his home country since July 2021.

In the industry for more than three decades, Franzen has spent more than half of that time in the GCC, holding top roles across the UAE, Oman and Qatar. His last general manager role in the region was at the Grand Hyatt Doha, which he left in 2019 after turning it into one of the city's most profitable hotels.

Franzen grew up in the Swiss alpine village of Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn. He grew up in his family's hotel, before moving abroad to complete his university education at the Australian International Hotel School, Canberra and Cornell University in the US.

He began his hospitality career as a chef and sommelier before moving to work in different operational departments across many properties, before moving into his first GM role.

Now with Waldorf Astoria Lusail, he previously spent 22 years with Hyatt, first as assistant revenue manager at Hyatt Regency Dubai in 1999, working his way through roles such as director of rooms at Grand Hyatt Muscat; director of rooms at Park Hyatt Moscow; EAM at Grand Hyatt Dubai; GM of Grand Hyatt Muscat; area VP of Qatar and Oman; and finally area VP of Hyatt Western India and GM of Grand Hyatt Mumbai.

He then set up a boutique luxury hospitality consulting firm before being appointed at the new Waldorf Astoria.