Hospitality alumnus Peter Wallenberg explains how teamwork and helping others are the paths to success
Peter Wallenberg (BSBA 1983)
Speaking virtually from his home in Sweden on April 23 as part of the Learning by Example, Attaining Distinction (LEAD) Mentor Program Speaker Series, Peter Wallenberg (BSBA 1983) shared his professional wisdom as a fifth-generation member of The Wallenberg Foundations, a collection of public and private foundations working for the betterment of Sweden.
The DU alumnus told attendees he found his calling at age 14 while working at his family’s hotel, the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
“After that job I told my father I wanted to be in the service industry,” he said. That decision led him to DU.
Denver looked a whole lot different when Wallenberg first stepped onto campus. He nostalgically showed attendees old photos of his time at DU, which he keeps in a scrapbook.
“When I went to Denver, I thought, ‘I’m a small-town boy from a small country. I think Denver suits me well,’” he said.
Wallenberg knew right away he wanted to study hospitality. He accompanied his studies with practical experience, working at inflight services at the former Stapleton airport.
“I had to be at work at 4:30 a.m. and get back to campus by 9 a.m. for class,” he explained.
He returned to Sweden after graduation in 1983, eventually making his way back to the place that initially drew him to hospitality: The Grand Hotel. Despite his family’s prominent distinction in the country, Wallenberg worked his way up from the bottom of the food chain. At 33, he became the youngest CEO the property had seen and took The Grand Hotel from a losing entity to one of the leading hotels in Europe.
During his talk, Wallenberg emphasized the importance of teamwork in hospitality and business at large. “You have to remember you are not doing this alone.”
He also encouraged attendees to seek out mentorship. “You can get very stuck in your own business,” he said. “You need people who can question you and challenge you.”
For Wallenberg, that also means returning the favor and serving as a mentor to others in the future. “When you grow up and get older, you should give back,” he said.
Wallenberg’s life is a testament to the notion of giving back. Today, his family’s foundation encompasses 17 nonprofits established by individual members of the family. The “closed ecosystem” of foundations and corporations work together to fund research and education throughout Sweden, specifically in science and technology.
“Everything we do is about trying to develop Sweden,” said Wallenberg.
As an example, Wallenberg told attendees about a program they started with the local university to give Grand Hotel employees—many of whom are recent immigrants—the opportunity to develop themselves. Employees who didn’t have the time or finances to attend university were able to study during work hours in order to obtain a degree.
“No matter what, there are always more things you can do to help the people around you,” he said.
Wallenberg’s family has shown what social impact can accomplish at scale, and 2020, despite its challenges, was no exception. In 2020 alone, the Wallenberg Foundations provided 2.4 billion Swedish Krona ($288.6 million U.S. dollars) in grants across Sweden.
The Grand Hotel, for example, provided alternative forms of employment during the pandemic.
“We started a program where we brought in employees who had been let go and gave them a course so they could go into hospitals and help,” Wallenberg told attendees.
Though Wallenberg officially left the service industry 10 years ago, he continues to serve as chairman of the Grand Hotel and is still deeply involved in hospitality and the family foundations.
“I have the best job in Sweden today,” Wallenberg concluded cheerfully.