Former Boots chief executive Richard Baker and Birmingham City Football Club manager Alex McLeish have been announced as keynote speakers at The Golf Show, to be held at the Harrogate International Centre from 26-28 October.
The two star names are high profile additions to the roster of expert speakers lined up to lead a host of educational seminars at the event.
Richard Baker is most famous for being the man who brokered the £11bn sale of Boots to private equity house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2007. He currently holds a number of roles including chairman of both DFS and Virgin Active, non-executive director of Whitbread, operating partner at Advent International and chairman of the European Division of Groupe Aeroplan, who run the Nectar reward points scheme.
“Richard Baker is one of the leading businessmen in the UK and has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the retail sector,” said John Davis, The Golf Show Coordinator. “He is widely acknowledged as the man who saved Boots and he will pass on his expertise and experiences to delegates attending his seminar.
“Alex McLeish is one of the most successful managers in Scottish football and his wealth of coaching knowledge and his experience of working alongside some of the greatest managers in the world has seen him turn Birmingham City into a top 10 Premier League side.”
Former Scotland international player and manager Alex McLeish will hold a seminar titled Player to Coach – Influences from a Life in Football, that will draw upon his experiences working alongside some of football’s greatest managers, including Jock Stein and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Delegates will also have the opportunity to quiz McLeish and the golf industry’s leading lights on coaching and retail in two special Question Time events to be held after the show has closed on the Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Leading coaches such as Scott Cranfield and Neil Plimmer will join McLeish on the coaching panel, while experts such as TGI Golf Managing Director, Eddie Reid, Foremost CEO, Paul Hedges and successful retailer and PGA professional, Nicky Lumb, will sit on the retail panel.
Other keynote speakers include former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas, Bill Morgan, the man who designed the Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, and marketing guru Andrew Wood, author of The Golf Marketing Bible.
There will be a number of seminars throughout the three-day event, with other speakers including Jamie Edwards, Andrew Palmer, Carl Watts, Andrew Keast, Gary Smith, Paul Sanders, Bill Sanderson and Dr Paul Hurrion.
The number of registered delegates attending the inaugural Golf Show has now smashed through the 1,200 mark, while more than 50 leading companies in the golf industry will be exhibiting, enabling pros to sample the latest equipment and services as well as conducting the forward buying face-to-face.
As well as seminars there will also be a number of short 30-minute presentations from leading figures in the golf industry in the style of ‘Speakers’ Corner.’
Pre-registration for the event will close on Thursday, 21 October. However, those PGA professionals who have not had chance to register through the website will be able to gain free access to the show simply by producing their PGA Membership Card at the main entrance.
For further details visit: www.golftradeshow.co.uk