Dillip Rajakarier is Group CEO of Minor International and CEO of Minor Hotels, presiding over one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing hospitality companies. The group had a portfolio of 12 hotels concentrated in Southeast Asia when Mr Rajakarier joined in 2007 as Chief Finance & Investment Officer. Since taking the reins of Minor Hotels as CEO in 2011, he has been instrumental in driving the company’s rapid global expansion, and today he oversees more than 530 properties in 56 countries across a growing portfolio of globally-recognised hotel and lifestyle brands.

A seasoned hotelier who joined Minor Hotels from Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises (now known as Belmond), Mr Rajakarier’s professional background in finance and IT have made him an advocate for driving operational performance through technological innovation, helping to position Minor as an industry trailblazer in digital transformation.

Before his appointment as CEO of Minor Hotels, Mr Rajakarier also served as the company’s COO. He has earned a reputation as an astute dealmaker, driving Minor Hotels’ global expansion through several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships. Among the most notable have been the acquisition of Spain’s NH Hotel Group in 2018 and the full acquisition of The Wolseley Hospitality Group in the UK in 2022. He also spearheaded Minor Hotels’ joint-venture partnership with The Elewana Collection in Tanzania and Kenya, the acquisition of Oaks in Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, and the acquisition of Tivoli in Portugal.

Mr Rajakarier was appointed Group CEO of Minor International in early 2020, on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. He successfully navigated Minor through the worst of the crisis, with the company emerging stronger than ever to secure some of its strongest ever financial results in 2022. He remains focused on accelerating Minor Hotels’ global expansion, particularly through the strategic growth of NH Hotel Group brands into new markets.

A British national, Mr Rajakarier completed his MBA in the UK and spent more than 20 years in London before relocating to Bangkok to join Minor Hotels.

As Group CEO of Minor International, Mr Rajakarier also oversees Minor’s Food and Lifestyle businesses, which include roughly 2,500 dining outlets under brands including The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club and Benihana, and nearly 400 retail points of sale globally. He is responsible for the company’s overarching strategy across all business units, including the corporate shared services of legal, IT and finance, as well as talent development and business culture.