Christopher Cowdray (born 1955) is a Zimbabwean-born British hotel manager. He is the chief executive officer of the

Dorchester Collection Dorchester Collection is a luxury hotel operator owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. Dorchester Collection owns and manages nine luxury five star hotels: The Dorchester (London), The Beverly H ...

, a hotel operator in Europe and the US.

Early life

Christopher Cowdray was born in 1955 in Zimbabwe.Christopher Charles Blanshard COWDRAY

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Deb ...

He was educated at

Falcon College , denomination = Interdenominational , established = , headmaster = D. van Wyk , grades_label = Forms , grades = 1—6 , gender = Co-educational , lower_age = 12 , upper_age = 18 , pupils = 384 (2016) , campus_type = Rural , houses = ...

in Zimbabwe. He received a degree in

hotel management ''Hotel Management'' magazine is a trade publication produced by Questex, LLC. History and profile The magazine ''Hotel Management'' was established in New York in 1922 by Ahrens Publishers. It absorbed or merged with various other hotel managem ...

in his home country before attending

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City. After graduating from the

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

's Executive Program.

Career

Cowdray managed hotels in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, Cowdray was previously the managing director at London's

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Hote ...

. In 2004, Cowdray became the general manager at

The Dorchester The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

Hotel. Cowdray was appointed to chief executive officer of The Dorchester Collection in November 2007. The Dorchester Collection is owned by the Dorchester Group Ltd. After managing The Dorchester, one of the ten hotels included in the Dorchester Collection, Cowdray became the CEO of the luxury hotel operation in 2007. In 2008, following his appointment to CEO, Cowdray added

Hotel Bel-Air The Hotel Bel-Air is a boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The hotel is one of the nine luxury hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). The hotel has a total of 103 ...

to the Dorchester Collection. Since then, the New York Palace Hotel was sold off, but the Dorchester Collection has expanded with additions such as

Le Richemond Le Richemond is a 109-room luxury hotel located in Geneva, Switzerland. The hotel was established in 1875 by Adolphe-Rodolphe Armleder and after World War II, his grandson, Jean Armleder, transformed the hotel to what it is known for today. It wa ...

in Geneva,

Coworth Park Coworth House, currently known as Coworth Park Hotel, is a late 18th-century country house situated at Sunningdale, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. It is one of the ten hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection, a group of lu ...

and 45 Park Lane in England, and Hotel Eden in Rome. In 2013, Cowdray was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Hospitality Awards for his achievements in the hotel community with the Dorchester collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowdray, Christopher 1955 births Alumni of Falcon College Living people White Rhodesian people British businesspeople Columbia Business School alumni