The mantle of influence at Carlson, the Minnetonka-based travel and hospitality giant, has officially transferred to the founding family's third generation, the company confirmed Monday.
Diana Nelson, the granddaughter of company patriarch Curt Carlson and daughter of Marilyn Carlson Nelson, will assume her mother's role as board chairwoman in March.
Nelson, 50, was elected to the position by Carlson's board of directors earlier this month.
The businesses of the privately held Carlson include the Radisson and Country Inns and Suites hotel chains, TGI Friday's restaurant group and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
The third generation of Curt Carlson's heirs now will hold four of the six family member seats, including the board chairmanship. Marilyn Carlson Nelson will remain on the 11-member board.
"This is very exciting for me," Diana Nelson said in an interview Monday.
"Is this the passing of the torch? I'd like to think this is a bit more like passing the baton, a relay. We're in a relay and that requires a sense of team," she said.
Nelson lives in San Francisco with her husband, John Atwater, and five children, the oldest of which is 21.