Golf Business Forum 2011
Speakers
This year, we welcomed some of the world’s largest developers and operators on stage and learned why certain projects proved to be the most successful of all. Our keynote speakers included:
Deputy General Manager, CGI
Najib ARHILA has been working for CGI (biggest real estate developer in Morocco) since 2007, as Deputy General Manager in charge of design and construction. During his career, Najib has managed more than 40 projects (urban development, resort, industrial zones). All around Morocco, he was in charge of design, market studies, financial analysis and business plans and also construction for those projects. Najib graduated in civil engineering from Mohammedia school in Rabat and holds a degree in project Management and financial management for Sorbonne Paris X.
With more than 3500 ha land reserve and more than 8 billion US $ investment for the coming 5 years CGI is the most important real estate developer in Morocco.
Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Jonas Software
Steve has been working for Jonas Software since 2005. He started his Jonas career at the Jonas Head Offi ce in Toronto. After working on internal projects, Steve was sent to the Jonas London Office to aid in building the company from an organic growth perspective.
In the five years since moving to the UK, Steve has expanded the business into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He has also been responsible for building up Jonas’ international acquisition business on the club management front.
Now, as Director, Steve oversees the multi-brand company with offices in the UK and Johannesburg.
Managing Partner, RBGolfconsult
Founder and Senior Partner of RBGolfconsult, Rod Bogg began his leisure management career with the Blantyre Sports Club in Malawi, Central Africa, moving to Dubai in 1987 to open and manage the world renowned ‘Desert Miracle’ Emirates Golf Club.
He went on to open and manage both the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and the Nad Al Sheba Golf Club on behalf of the Government of Dubai, and between 2005 and 2010 oversaw the building of the Park Hyatt Dubai Creek and 92 residential villas at the Dubai Creek Golf Club and initiated the project to build a further 120 villas at Emirates Golf Club.
Now based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Rod has branched out into advisory services to golf clubs and managers worldwide, using his experience in commercial golf management to make clubs – and their managers - more profitable and efficient whilst retaining a strong emphasis on quality and customer focus.
Product Manager, Market Development - Asia, John Deere Golf
Graduated bachelor degree in Economics from Chulalongkorn University.
Received Thai Government scholarship to study Master Degree in the US
Graduated Master Degree in Business Management – Project Management.
Started working with Cholburi Muang Thong (CMT ) Co., Ltd in Thailand since graduated. Working in Import and Export manager for 5 years and then become manager of Golf Division for the company.
Represent various products such as John Deere, EZGO, Verti-drain, etc.
After 11 years in Golf business as a dealer in Thailand. I started working for John Deere as a Product Manager - Asia for another 11 years until now.
Operations Director, Braemar
Michael joined Braemar Golf as Operations Director in April 2010 after 11 successful years working in Bahrain. His first major assignment was to open the Riffa Golf Club in 1999 which went on to become a highly successful and profitable club delivering over 40,000 rounds per annum.
More recently he managed the re-development of the golf club into an master planned community of 1,000 properties which saw the opening of the new Colin Montgomerie designed Royal Golf Club in 2008.
Vice President of International Business, Toro
The Toro Company is a leading worldwide provider of turf and landscape maintenance equipment, and precision irrigation systems. As the VP of International Business, Bill is responsible for Toro’s golf business outside of the United States.
Toro’s International Business now represents 32% of company sales and is targeted to grow faster than the company as a whole.
Principal, EDSA
Mr. Centolella joined EDSA in 1985 and was named a Principal in 2002.
With more than 25 years of experience, he is knowledgeable in all aspects of planning, landscape architecture and urban design. He has supervised a variety of projects ranging from residential communities, entertainment venues and resorts destinations to campuses and mixed-use downtown centers.
Throughout his career, Mr. Centolella has successfully created enjoyable outdoor places that are complimentary of host cultures and engage visitors and residents. He stresses the integration of spaces, materials and finishes within the site and landscape elements to form a unifi ed seamless design statement. His approach focuses on proportion, functionality and overall user experience.
Currently, he manages EDSA’s Office on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland and has contributed to the design development, project management and construction observation of resort hotel properties and golf community projects around the world. He is currently responsible for projects being developed in California, Arizona, New York, Nevada, and Hawaii as well as China, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Qatar, Italy and Cyprus.
CEO, Espart
Espart is the the real estate holding of the Espirito Santo Group and has a portfolio of 33 projects including Herdade da Comporta. Herdade da Comporta is the largest privately owned estate in Portugal and will include 2 golf courses, 5 hotels and 1.700 residences.
Comporta links, one of the golf courses, is the Portuguese candidate for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Formerly of Loch Lomond Golf Club
Niall’s extensive club expertise has been gained by working at the top echelon of blue chip clubs in the UK and Middle East, notably his roles as President/CEO at Loch Lomond, Director of Operations at St Andrews Links Trust (the organisation responsible for running the courses and facilities at the Home of Golf), General Manager at Dubai Golf & Racing Club (home to the Dubai World Cup, the richest horse race in the world), Director of Golf at Celtic Manor (venue for 2010 Ryder Cup) and the Club Administrator at Wentworth Club (venue for the BMW PGA Championship).
Niall was European Board Member of CMAE 2003 – 2008 and President of the Scottish Region of CMAE 2003 – 2007.
Managing Director, Senior Vice President Troon Golf Europe, Middle East, & Africa
Bruce Glasco has over 20 years experience in the golf industry. Prior to joining Troon Golf, Glasco specialized in operations at several of the world’s leading golf facilities. The list includes such recognized facilities as the famed Pine Valley Golf Club, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club, the Kapalua Golf Club and Resort, and the exclusive Maroon Creek Club.
Glasco was appointed to his current role in 2006, following successful assignments as Vice President of Operations for Western North America and Senior Vice President of the Australia Pacific Division. During his tenure Glasco has shown a keen understanding of emerging markets and has been credited with helping to develop much of the company’s international growth initiative. Bruce now operates the EM&A divisions from Troon’s Geneva Switzerland office.
Managing Director, Harradine Golf
Peter is the Principal and Senior Architect of “Harradine Golf” with overall responsibility for the design and construction supervision of all “Harradine Golf” projects. Peter has personally designed and co-designed over 160 golf courses in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Peter is a former President of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects and the European Society of Golf Course Architects.
Senior Vice President and Director of IMG Golf, EMEA
Guy Kinnings has been with IMG for over 20 years and has worked in the Golf Division for a large part of that time.
Guy is responsible for a number of IMG’s key corporate and Federation relationships and is a member of the Board of European Tour Productions. He has been responsible for the recruitment and management of many of the world’s top golfers on IMG’s books and he has worked with most of IMG’s leading corporate customers and clients whilst in the Division, as well as negotiation terms for most of its key tournament in the region. He currently works closely with Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Thomas Bjorn, Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas and Matteo Manassero
Mr Maxton is an economist, writer and author who presents on, and facilitates, dialogue on Asian economies and business challenges. He draws on over 25 years of consulting, advisory and editorial work. He is currently a freelance correspondent for The Economist and a professional speaker, commentator and advisor to a wide range of business and government clients.
He is the author of an upcoming book: The End of Progress: How modern economics has failed us, to be released in the summer of 2011, in which he asks a number of provocative questions about the long term prospects for economic growth, about the sustainability of our resource use, about the consequences of China's rise and about the West's measures of progress.
For many years he has been chairing conferences, including roundtables organised globally by Economist Conferences, focusing on a wide range of industries, including financial services, energy, defence, aerospace and the automotive industry. Graeme Maxton also appears regularly on major international news channels including the BBC, CNN and is a regular guest host on CNBC’s morning investment programme “Squawk Box”.
General Manager, Dubai Golf
With over twenty years experience in the golf industry, Chris is currently General Manager of Dubai Golf which owns and manages Dubai’s leading golf clubs, Emirates Golf Club(Majlis Course Ranked #1 in the region-Golf Digest Middle East, and features in the Top 100 Courses in the World -Golf Digest USA) and Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. Dubai Golf has been at the forefront of developing golf in the Gulf region since 1988,in particular promoting Dubai as a golfing destination and hosting twenty one European Tour events with the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on five occasions.
Chris leads a team of 800 staff at Dubai Golf has spent 12 years working in the Gulf and has managerial experience of three clubs, Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Nad al Sheba and Emirates Golf Club.
Vice President of Strategy, WATG
Muriel Muirden offers WATG clients pre-development strategic advice and support. She also advises the firm’s global leaders on tourism trends and market opportunities; and she conducts proprietary research on evolving hospitality products and market dynamics.
Prior to joining WATG, Muriel was the Senior Vice President and Co-Leader of the Economics practice at AECOM (formerly Economics Research Associates).
Muriel has 25 years of experience in the tourism and leisure industries through operational, development and consultancy roles. Her particular areas of expertise are in the fields of development strategy, concept evaluation and business planning for major tourism, hotel and resort real estate enterprises.
Muriel has advised both public and private sector clients on development strategy, ranging from government agencies, national and regional tourist boards, property development companies, international hotel operators, sovereign wealth funds and charitable foundations. Her geographic focus has spanned Europe, Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, India and China.
Vice President of Development, Brazilian Confederation of Golf
Marcio V. Galvão is the Vice President of Development for the Brazilian Confederation of Golf, the sportive entity responsible for the golf management in Brazil, which is structured under a private non-profit organization. The Confederation coordinates the golf activities in Brazil together with 8 regional Federations and more than 100 affiliated clubs. It is linked to the Ministry of Sports and to the Brazilian Olympic Committee and affiliated to the International Golf Federation, to the R & A and to the South American Federation.
As Vice President of Development, Marcio Galvão’s main role is to develop programs to enhance the Brazilian golf industry environment through a sustainable and balanced growth of supply of golf courses and the number of golf practitioners. He is also responsible for the Brazilian Golf Tourism Bureau, the Confederation’s entity focused on promoting the golf tourism business in Brazil.
Chief Executive, The European Tour
George O’Grady CBE became the third Executive Director of The European Tour on January 1, 2005, succeeding John Jacobs OBE, who supervised the Tour’s formative years from 1971 to 1974 and Ken Schofield CBE, who took over the reins on January 1, 1975. He joined The European Tour in 1974 from the City as a Tournament Administrator and subsequently Tournament Director. He was Chief Referee at The Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1977 and Staging Director for The Ryder Cup in 1981, 1985 and 1989.
O’Grady’s remit was to assist in developing the overall strategy of the Tour, maximise television policies and supervise tournament ownership and sponsorship programmes, which he did until taking up his role as Executive Director, following Schofield’s decision in 2003 to step aside at the end of 2004. His title changed to Chief Executive on January 1, 2007, to reflect his continued concentration on the business development of The European Tour.
Director, Landmark Media International Ltd.
Gary Firkins is the founding director of Landmark Media International Ltd, a specialist golf marketing communications and public relations agency working across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A journalist by profession, Gary established Landmark Media to help leading golf brands and businesses successfully communicate key messages via offl ine and online channels, and build the reputation of some of the world’s most iconic golf resorts and developments including Yas Links Abu Dhabi, PGA Catalunya Resort, Barcelona, and Elea Estate, Cyprus.
Landmark Media also works with a variety of golf business-to-business brands, and has managed PR and communications for KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice and Golf Business Forum since 2007. Gary is also a familiar face on www.golfbusinesscommunity.com where he presents many of the golf industry video interviews and panel discussions.
Director, DLF Golf Resorts Ltd.
Aakash Ohri has been associated with the DLF Golf & Country Club since its inception and has been responsible for establishing the facility as one the finest golf, sports and leisure destinations in Asia. In his capacity as Director, DLF Golf Resorts Ltd, Aakash is responsible for all management related functions of the golf business, managing and guiding 700 employees in various departments, including key teams working on sponsorships, event conceptualisation and marketing, co-branding, product management and public relations.
He is also a part of a core team for conceptualising and executing new projects of the company. Under Aakash’s leadership the DLF Golf and Country Club has emerged as one of the few golf facilities in the world to make profits independent of real estate. He has brought in a new dimension to golf management in the country and is actively involved in the development of new golf course &communities.
Global Head Turf and Landscape Business, Syngenta
Mike completed his B.Sc. at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom and followed this with Ph.D. in biological sciences from Keele University. He has over 20 years experience in the Specialty Chemicals industry in sales & marketing, regional & strategic roles.
Prior to joining Syngenta he was with Clariant as the Global Business Director for their Bicocides division.
He took on his current role in 2009 as the global head of the Syngenta’s specialist Turf and Landscape sector which focuses on the golf course industry as its main business priority.
Partner, Head of KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice in EMA
Andrea Sartori established KPMG's Real Estate, Leisure & Tourism Group in Central and Eastern Europe in 1999. Since its formation, the group has grown to more than 25 specialized golf and real estate consultants and has become the largest dedicated hospitality, leisure and lifestyle real estate advisory group in EMA. During his career, Andrea has taken part in more than one hundred international golf related assignments, including market and financial feasibility studies, valuations, operational reviews and business planning.
He is the founder of the Golf Business Forum, the Golf Benchmark Survey and the Golf Business Community. In 2010, Andrea was listed among Golf Inc.’s 35 most powerful people in golf.
Director of Golf, the Belfry Golf Resort
Gary Silcock has been working as Director of Golf at The Belfry since August 2006 and has been managing a business that is now thriving in a recession. He has overseen a significant facelift to the resort’s iconic Ryder Cup Brabazon course that has subsequently brought praise amongst national and international media. His resort is now the top destination for golfers looking to take their next break in the UK and his Pro Shop was recently voted as the No.1 in the country in a poll conducted by Golf World magazine.
Gary has worked at some of the world’s finest golf clubs and resorts, and was Chief Executive (Golf Operations) at Aamby Valley, Sahara Lake City - an $8 billion project in India's Western Ghat Hills where a Seven-Star gated city is being developed.
Principal & Senior Partner, MCM
Norm Spitzig, MCM is internationally recognized as an eloquent and visionary spokesman for the private club industry. His groundbreaking book Perspectives on Club Management – now over 20 years old - continues to inspire and challenge club directors, managers and students around the world.
Norm’s leadership and professional contributions to the private club industry are been varied and significant. Elected a National Director of CMAA in 1989, he served as National President in 1995 – the same year he became one of the six original general managers to earn the prestigious lifetime Master Club Manager (MCM) designation.
Norm currently serves as a Principal & Senior Partner in Master Club Advisors, publisher of the premier newsletter for leaders in the worldwide private club industry, Club Management Perspectives, and now regarded by more and more leaders in the private club industry as a “general manager executive search firm of choice”.
Senior Vice President, Nicklaus Design
As Senior Vice President, New Business Development, Paul Stringer’s focus is to familiarize developers with Nicklaus Design both domestically and internationally.
He then assists clients analyzing business plans; membership plans, financial proformas, and discusses strategies in providing support of the golf course and real estate development. Contract negotiations, consultant recommendations and monitoring of contractual obligations are also part of Paul’s role at Nicklaus Design. Paul currently oversees the Asia office in Hong Kong for Nicklaus Design, as well as other domestic and international markets.
Nicklaus Design is widely regarded as the world’s leading design firm with 341 courses open for play in 34 countries and 39 states.
Partner and CIO, Black Knight Capital Management
Marc Topiol has over 20 years of experience within the Leisure and Lifestyle Real Estate asset class. Marc has held various positions within the space and served premiere companies such as Club Med, Marriott, Orion Capital Managers and now Black Knight International.
Marc has supervised capital deployment and value creation efforts for over One Billion U.S. Dollars of real estate investments through Acquisition, Structuring & Joint Ventures, Feasibility & Business Planning and Asset Management activities. Marc has been principally active within the Europe, Middle East and Asia regions as Co--‐Managing Director EMEA for Marriott Vacation Club International and Marriott Leisure. As part of THE PLAYER GROUP, Marc leads the Investment and Asset Management activities with a primary focus on expanding the Group’s portfolio of branded products.
Event moderator
Sports anchor and correspondent, CNN International
Don Riddell is a British-born anchor and is based in London, where he anchors CNN International’s 'World Sport' show. He joined the network in 2002 and has travelled extensively, filing stories from dozens of different countries and every major continent. He has broadcast live from locations all over Europe and has clocked up thousands of hours of on-air experience.
In recent months, he has covered the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, Sebastian Vettel's Grand Prix victory in Abu Dhabi and the Spanish football team's victorious homecoming to Madrid. During nine years at CNN, Riddell has interviewed most of the world's top sports stars.
For many years he was the host of CNN's monthly feature show 'Living Golf' and has interviewed many of the world’s top players like Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Annika Sorenstam. Last autumn, he profiled the golf boom in China and the Ryo Ishikawa-inspired golf revival in Japan.
Executive Search & Selection
Gill Wilson is no stranger to the Golf Business Forum being its moderator
since the launch and a regular contributor to the ever expanding Golf Business Community. She is proud to have been part of its phenomenal growth and with her passion, knowledge and enthusiasm for the development of golf and leisure in emerging countries she has always encouraged lively debate helping delegates get the most out of networking opportunities.
Gill began her career as the owner of a group of successful employment agencies and head-hunting service. She has recently brought her years of experience to bear within the golf industry working with the very best in the industry. Her extensive contacts and knowledge of the sector combined with her intuition and strategic vision mean that she is perfectly placed to find the right candidate both culturally and professionally for key management positions in the commercial golf arena.
Her role as Managing Director of her family owned golf club gave her hands on experience of the day to day operations of a multi function venue. Deputy CEO of the Women Professional Golfers’ European Tour, (LET) responsible for new business and sponsor cultivation, including American Express, Evian, Ford, McDonalds, Marriott, Hennessy and several Tourist Boards.
As CEO of CECTA, the Central European Countries Travel Association, an umbrella organization bringing together the collective interests of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the travel industry servicing them she has been instrumental in developing a market driven strategy to raise the profi le of Central Europe. Golf, a growing product in all CECTA countries, is high on the agenda of governments who recognize the positive socio/economic impact golf and tourism can bring.
Gill Wilson is a Co founder of FIRSTGOLF helping to grow the game inclusively for both sexes, at any age or any size of pocket at existing clubs, new golf developments and green and brown fi eld sites within educational establishments
and communities.
