Waldemar Stoud Platou (11 August 1868 – 13 July 1930) was a Norwegian businessperson. He had a long career in thebrewery industry.
He was born inFurnes Municipality, inHedmark county, as the son of banker Christian Fredrik Stoud Platou (1824–1883) and Elise Sem (1833–1923).[1] He was a brother ofGabriel Andreas Stoud Platou andChristian Emil Stoud Platou, grandnephew ofLudvig Stoud Platou, uncle ofKaren,Ragnar andFrithjof Stoud Platou and granduncle ofLars T. Platou.[2] He was also a second cousin ofOscar,Lars andValborg Platou.[3]
Platou married three times. In January 1891 in Kristiania he married Hilda Oppegaard (1859–1954), but the marriage was dissolved in 1908. In March 1910 in Bergen he married actor Dina Nordvik (1884–1921). After her death he married French citizen Alexandra Henriette Maud de Ciccolini in April 1926 inNice.[1]
He attended a commerce school in his hometown,Hamar, and at the age of 16 he became a brewer's apprentice atChristiania Bryggeri in Norway's capital. After studies in Germany and Bohemia, he took the brewer's examination inWorms in 1888. He returned to Norway, and was hired as brewery manager of Christiania Bryggeri in 1889. On 1 November 1891 he became manager of the newly establishedBergen breweryHansa Bryggeri.[1] He was behind the founding of the brewery, when he boughtDet Sembske Bryggeri and asked in Bergen's local press for further investments.[4] He advanced from manager to chief executive officer of Hansa in 1898.[5] He was later the chief executive officer ofFrydenlunds Bryggeri from 1916 to 1924, and then chairman of Frydenlunds until his death.[1]
He co-founded the interest organizationNorsk Bryggeriforening for non-Christiania breweries in 1894, and after it merged with theChristiania Bryggeriers Forening to formDen norske Bryggeriforening, Platou took part here too as a board member. He also sat on the supervisory council ofVinmonopolet. Platou was also involved in theNorwegian Trekking Association, and was in 1914 the first chairman ofFløibanen.[1] In 1926 he chairedForeningen for Reiselivet i Norge.[5] He was a member of themunicipal council ofBergen Municipality from 1905 to 1907 and themunicipal council forAker Municipality from 1918 to 1920, for theConservative Party.[1] His brother was a parliamentarian for the same party.[6]
Platou was decorated as a Knight, First Class of theRoyal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1910.[1] Abust of him was raised at Fløibanen's terminus stationVetrlidsalmenning.[5] In 1927 he retreated to a farm he had bought inStange Municipality, where he died in July 1930.[1]