Founder, Rocco Forte Hotels

In 1912, the Forte family emigrated from the Roman province to Scotland. 22 years later, 26-year-old Charles Forte opened his Milk Bar on London's Regent Street. Blessed with exceptional business acumen, Charles Forte built a hospitality and hotel empire that was unparalleled in Europe. Rocco Forte entered the business in 1969 and became CEO in 1983. At the time, he managed nearly 100,000 employees and owned 800 hotels and 1,000 restaurants in more than 50 countries. Later, as chairman of the board, he continued to drive expansion. He bought the Meridien Hotel Group from Air France. The empire included the Ritz in Madrid as well as the Hotel Plaza Athénée in New York. For his merit for the British tourism industry, the Queen knighted him.

However, it was soon over for the company. In 1996, the unfriendly takeover by Granada plc followed - a shock for the whole family. However, the crisis was also an opportunity: The time had come to implement Sir Rocco Forte's idea of hotels. In the same year, together with his sister, Olga Polizzi, he laid the foundation stone for today's Forte Hotel Group. The Balmoral in Edinburgh was the first flagship hotel of the group, which from then on concentrated on the luxury hotel industry.

Sir Rocco, who studied modern language at Prembroke College and is an accredited accountant, is more relaxed now than he used to be. He may as well be, because the next generation is already at the start. Rocco Forte is now 75 years old and, with his wife Lady Aliai Forte, has three children, Lydia, Irene and Charles, all of whom now run their own parts of the business. Sir Rocco loves to be very fit. Instead of dieting - which would be difficult in his job - he prefers to exercise. Four times Rocco Forte represented Great Britain at the Triathlon World Championships. In Klagenfurt, he came second in his category at the Iron Man. In addition to extreme running, Rocco Forte plays golf and goes hunting. Commitment to charity events is a matter of course for him. He and his wife are also sponsors of the London Symphony Orchestra. Sir Rocco is still very ambitious today, perhaps less so in sports, but the Forte Hotel Group wants to continue to grow - not only in Europe, where the declared goal is to become the leading luxury hotel chain, but recently also in the Far East, where The Westbund Hotel Shanghai, the first hotel of the group outside Europe, has been opened. Sir Rocco Forte is the knight among hoteliers. His values and dreams will continue to shape the luxury hotel industry.

Picture credits: Julian Broad; Hotel Photography SRL