Industry Hotshots Archive

David Sjolander

Vice President Hotel Information Systems - Carlson Hospitality Corporation

What is your job title?
Vice President Hotel Information Systems

What are some of your responsibilities?
I am responsible for computer systems in our owned and managed hotels and the brand-required systems in our franchised hotel. Our hotel brands include Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, Regent International and Park Hospitality.

What do you like most about your job?
Hanging out at the intersection of business and technology. There's a very healthy debate that happens there, and I love being in the middle of it.

What do you like least about your job?
I'm a hotelier first and a techie second. So, when the discussion gets more and more technical and less-related to business strategy, I tend to lose interest.

Did you go to undergraduate school? Where? What was your major?
Bachelors degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Denver, MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

What is your favorite movie?
The Producers

What is your favorite song?
Birdland by Weather Report

What is your favorite line from a movie or song?
"We're on a mission from God" from the Blues Brothers

What was your first job?
Busboy at the Hot Fish Shop in Mendota, Minnesota

What was your most interesting day at work?
The day I spent as a bodyguard for Crystal Gayle

What would you do if you won the lottery?
Buy a lake cabin for summers in Minnesota, then move to Hawaii for the other 51 weeks of the year.

When you are not working what do you enjoy doing?
Spending time with family, traveling, reading, tending to my Bonsai trees

What is the next technology to impact the hospitality industry?
Wireless

mailto:Dsjolander@carlson.com