Niall Flanagan, formerly President and CEO at Loch Lomond Golf Club, has been appointed as Managing Partner for Kopplin & Kuebler, as part of the leading American golf recruitment agency’s plan to add an international arm to its successful business.
Flanagan joins the company, headed by Directors Richard M. Kopplin and Kurt D Kuebler, at a time when Kopplin & Kuebler is looking to expand its hugely successful American operation into the key markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The new international operation will be based at offices in central London.
He has been employed to use both his experience and contacts to facilitate international golf clubs and other international golf organisations in finding key senior management personnel and to aid prominent industry executives to locate suitable jobs around the world.
As part of the remit, Flanagan will also be setting up a consultancy service, offering golf clubs and other golf businesses expert advice on getting the most out of their existing management teams. Flanagan’s association with Kopplin & Kuebler will also give clubs and organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia access to some of the leading industry talent in the United States.
Richard Kopplin set up his search business in 1997, after 25 years managing prestigious private golf clubs across America and was joined in 2007 by Kurt Kuebler, who was brought on board to expand the company’s interests on America’s eastern seaboard. Kopplin & Kuebler’s client base comprises many of America’s premier golf clubs including Augusta National Golf Club, The Olympic Club, Merion Golf Club and Baltusrol Golf Club.
“Richard (Kopplin) and Kurt (Kuebler) have enjoyed a great deal of success over the last few years and one of the main reasons for that success is both have extensive experience working in the business and so have a clear understanding of exactly what their clients require.
“I believe I’m in a similar position in so far as I have also amassed considerable experience working at some of the leading golf clubs and organisations in Europe and the Middle East and I look forward to utilising everything I have learned while looking after the interests of our clients.
“I am honoured to be asked to join Kopplin & Kuebler and believe my appointment comes at a hugely interesting time for the golf business as a whole,” Flanagan added.
“It would be no exaggeration to suggest that almost all golf businesses are facing substantial financial pressures and that makes it all the more important that companies are able to appoint key personnel who are capable of meeting all their needs and driving their businesses forward.
“As Kopplin & Kuebler’s company motto states, ‘Quality isn’t Expensive …. It’s Priceless’ and never has that been more true than it is today.”
Flanagan brings to Kopplin & Kuebler a total of almost 25 years working in senior positions within the golf industry. He joined the PGA as a Tournament Director in 1987 and then worked at Wentworth Club, Celtic Manor Hotel, Golf &Country Club, Clubhaus plc and the Dubai Golf and Racing Club before becoming Director of Operations for the St Andrews Links Trust in 2000. Until recently, he was President/CEO at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
Kopplin & Kuebler www.kopplinandkuebler.com