KPMG has confirmed an exciting agenda for the seventh annual Golf Business Forum, to be hosted by CNN’s Justin Armsden.
The conference, firmly established as the leading golf industry event for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will be staged at The Gloria Resorts, Belek, Turkey, May 12-14, 2010, and attended by legendary professional golfers and entrepreneurs Greg Norman and Annika Sorenstam.
Under the theme of ‘Rethink, Redesign, Reposition the global golf industry’, the two-day Forum will begin with a special debate on the ‘New Golf Business Landscape,’ featuring a world-class line-up of panellists tackling issues thrown up by the cataclysm of the global economic downturn, including the future of golf and real estate, the impact of golf in the Olympics, China’s success as an emerging market and why the environment and sustainability could become the number one issue in golf development.
Wading into the live, on-stage debate chaired by CNN’s Justin Armsden and KPMG’s Andrea Sartori, will be Giovanni Gregoratti of Citigroup, Tenniel Chu, Executive Director of Mission Hills Golf Club, Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, Club Car CEO Gary Michel, and Marc Player, CEO of Gary Player Golf Course Design.
Justin Armsden said: “I am really looking forward to being a part of the KPMG Golf Business Forum in Turkey this year. I will be moderating various sessions with some of the industry’s leading names throughout the two days – and with over 300 delegates expected, it promises to be another superb event.”
Also on the agenda is:
- Standing out from the Crowd: Developers on Marketing, Positioning & Branding. Communicating their thoughts on the issue will be, with leading developers from Turkey, Greece and Middle East.
- How does the future look for professional golf? After years of sustained growth, fuelled by broadcaster and sponsorship demand, has professional golf run out of steam? Greg Norman plus Ernie Els’ agent Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler join the debate.
- Here come the girls. With increasing numbers of women in the workplace, with more money to spend, can women play in a man’s world and break down barriers? Annika Sorenstam thinks so, so does Alex Armas CEO of Ladies European Tour, and both will be on stage to explain why.
- Discover Turkey and its wealth of opportunity. It is already one of the hottest new destinations for golf tourism, with plans to build many more courses, but is Turkey the new Spain or Portugal?
- Maximizing profits through design and operations. A practical, workshop style session, focused on golf operations, business management, sales and marketing, procurement, agronomy, food & beverage as well as optimizing the design of your clubhouse.
- The environment – guidelines to environmental best practice. Find out why the environment is fast becoming golf’s greatest challenge – and potentially it’s greatest asset, too.
Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s specialist Golf Advisory Practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “The golf industry is still suffering the effects of the global economic downturn and it is clear the future golf market looks very different to what we have experienced in the past. That’s why this year’s Golf Business Forum is more important than ever. Attendees will benefit from the visionary perspectives of our expert panellists and speakers and learn the secrets of future success.”
Golf Business Forum www.golfbusinessforum.com