Career Path: Hotel Training Programme > University Summer School > Sales / Marketing > General Manager > Managing Director
“When I started out I worked in the kitchens and restaurants of the Savoy"
My Story: I did a 4 year training programme that meant I could work in the kitchens and the restaurants of London’s Savoy hotel and the Four Seasons Inn on the Park. After graduating from a University Summer School, I spent a year working for Sheraton in the USA in sales and marketing. I became General Manager for Mannings Heath Golf Club. Over the next three years, I doubled its turnover and developed a new club house and a second 18-hole championship course. I then turned my attention to a four-star hotel with £2.5m-turnover. I achieved year-on-year growth, record profits and an AA red star rating. I took over as Managing Director when my father became Chairman.
Funny Story: Watching a 23 tier wedding cake being decapitated as it was carried into a ballroom as no-one measured the height of the cake versus the height of the door.