Petter Stordalen

Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand (born 29 November 1962) is a Norwegian businessman. With an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion as of 2025, he is the owner of the Strawberry Group, a conglomerate of ten companies with holdings in hotels, shopping centers, real estate, finance, and art. Through Strawberry Hospitality Group, he owns Strawberry (formerly known as Nordic Choice Hotels), consisting of over 230 hotels and 17,000 employees.

In the later stages of his career, Stordalen had pursued philanthropic endeavors alongside his wife, doctor, and environmentalist Gunhild Stordalen; through their Stordalen Foundation, established in 2011, they have donated large amounts of money to various scientific research programs and charities focused on addressing climate change. He has been a co-owner of SunClass Airlines since 2019.

Early life

Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand was born in Porsgrunn on 29 November 1962, the son of Kari and Knut Anker Stordalen (1933–1994). At the age of 12, he began selling strawberries at the local market. In 1974, the local Porsgrunns Dagblad newspaper named him Norway's top strawberry seller. Following high school, he attended Kjøpmannsinstituttet for one year, then managed his father's store for a short time before joining the Norwegian School of Marketing.

Career

Shopping centers

At 24, he took over what was, at the time, the largest shopping center in Norway, City Syd, Trondheim. After posting record profits at City Syd, he became property director in the company Made in. Stordalen was the architect of the conversion of the market area in downtown Trondheim and the re-launch of the Liertoppen shopping centre outside Oslo. He was also put in charge of the Bik Bok brand.