Prominent club professionals from around the globe have hailed the 10th Asian Club Managers’ Conference (Singapore) an overwhelming success.
The three-day gathering attracted a record attendance of more than 200 delegates from a dozen countries, including the first delegation from mainland China to participate in the event and a host of general managers from leading golf clubs in the region.
Americans Gregg Patterson and Mike Holtzman, respected veterans of the club industry, were among the high-profile list of speakers at the Orchid Country Club where the theme for the conference was Differentiating and Transforming Your Club’s DNA.
In addition to a 15-strong party from the Club Managers’ Association of America China Chapter led by President Aylwin Tai, there were representatives from the Club Managers’ Associations in Hong Kong and Indonesia, Golf Club Managers’ Association of Malaysia and Global Associate Clubs of China.
Jeffrey Leong, Conference Chairman, said: “The initial feedback from visitors has been hugely positive, which is testament to the hard work of this year’s Organising Committee in putting together such a tremendous programme.
“The fact that we had such a diverse gathering of delegates and such high-quality speakers underlined the reputation of this event as one of the leading conferences for club managers in Asia … and in the world.”
Peter Goh, President, Club Managers’ Association Singapore, concurred. He said: “We saw once again that there is nothing more powerful than when club professionals come together to share ideas, learn from each other and also have the opportunity to connect with so many fellow club professionals from around the world.
“It was especially gratifying that we were able to welcome our friends from China for the first time.”
Joining The Beach Club General Manager Patterson and Profitable Food Facilities President Holtzman among the speakers were an array of well-known figures from around the region, including Patrick Bowers, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Laguna Hospitality.
Also sharing their wisdom and knowledge were Rachele Focardi, Senior Vice President of Talent Strategy and Employer Branding APAC, Universum, Bentley Williams, Chief, The Wow! Academy, Peter Roux, Managing Director of PSD Asia Pacific, Ana Mollinedo Mims, Founder and Managing Director of Aproposito, and Jimmy Yin, Senior Counsel and Managing Director at Drew and Napier LLC.
Following various breakout sessions and a President’s Panel, the conference culminated with the option of an educational/facility tour of Sentosa Golf Club or a visit to The Culinary Institute of America (Singapore) and the Food & Hotel Asia conference.
Among the main sponsors were Asian Golf Industry Federation Charter Members Toro, Jebsen & Jessen and Club Car along with Centaur Asia-Pacific and Jacobsen.
The Asian Club Managers’ Conference was organised in conjunction with the Food & Hotel Asia 2014, Asia’s largest international food and hospitality trade exhibition and conference.
Club Managers’ Association of America www.cmaa.org
Club Managers’ Association Hong Kongwww.cmahk.com.hk/eng
Club Managers’ Association Singapore www.cmas.org.sg