Profile

Lars Eltvik

Senior Advisor – Education
Red Sea Global

Lars Eltvik is the Senior Advisor for Education at Red Sea Global (RSG), a closed joint stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. He has also been appointed as the General Manager of The Red Sea National Academy (TRSNA), which will be inaugurated later this year in Al Wajh. TRSNA will bring a range of hospitality and related vocational programs to the region, tailored to prepare and train young Saudi talent for careers in the tourism and hospitality industry. The academy will be a center of excellence, providing continued learning and development for colleagues across both The Red Sea and AMAALA destinations, as well as training, development and job opportunities for the local and regional population. Lars joined RSG in 2018, first as Director of Education for AMAALA, before starting his current role in 2021. His career in hospitality and hospitality education spans over more than 35 years, starting in hospitality operations in his home country of Norway. Since the mid-1990s, his work has mainly been related to hospitality education and training. Lars was part of the team at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai from pre-opening in 2001 to 2009 before joining the leadership team at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland from 2009 to 2015 as Managing Director for Global Education Services. From 2015 to 2018, he served as MD for Dusit Hospitality Education in Bangkok, Thailand. Lars graduated from the Norwegian School of Hotel Management before earning his MSc Degree in Tourism Planning and Development from the University of Surrey in the UK.