Conversations with Leaders in Luxury
CONVERSATIONS WITH LEADERS IN LUXURY
A New Luxury Marketing Council Series
Generously hosted by Doerte Lau, Director of Marketing, The New York Palace
For me, business-wise and personally, one of the benefits of The Luxury Marketing Council for which I'm most thankful has been and continues to be the ability to pick up the phone and ask for the CEO of any one of some 275 top luxury brands and to get a return call the same day.
Even more important has been the opportunity to get to know and observe and learn from these extraordinary business men and women - leaders in luxury.
-How their style motivates and influences their teams;
-How they see the future of luxury marketing unfolding: the future of their brand and the future of other luxury brands;
-Their views on how the luxury market and luxury customer changing;
-The issues, long and short term, that they are wrestling with;
-The kinds of cutting-edge initiatives, particularly from a marketing point of view, they are launching to win greater loyalty and share of wallet of their best customers,
-How they are 'surprising and delighting' these best customers;
-Their approach to management, motivation, implementation;
-The kind of leaders and people they are.
Given the success of recent Council serial explorations of specific themes (Women In Luxury; Human Capital; Diversity) it was clear that not to engage member CEOs as a regular part of our Luxury Marketing Council programs would be a great opportunity ignored.
In addition to Mr. Mc Manus I'll be approaching the heads of Cartier, YSL Beaute, Sea Dream Yacht Club, Orient Express, Forbes, Virtuoso, The Institute for Private Investors,
American Express Publishing, Escada, Les Concierges, to name a few. Some have already committed to participating and were very enthusiastic.
I realized that it was important to make "Conversations With Leaders In Luxury" a regular and featured part of our value-add to Luxury Marketing Council members. The format will be a dynamic, half-hour interview (with homage to Charlie Rose and James Lipton) followed by questions from those attending.
On August 23, at The New York Palace, the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Leading Hotels of the World, Paul M. Mc Manus and I will hold the second of our series. My thanks to Paul for his involvement and to Doerte Lau, Director of Marketing of The New York Palace, for kindly hosting. I hope you are as enthusiastic about this addition to our calendar as I am.
Time: 8-9.45am
Location: The New York Palace Hotel, 455 Madison Avenue, between 50th and 51st Street, East side of the street, Enter through the main courtyard on Madison.
The L’Orangerie Room, 3rd Floor, Villard Mansion.
Please RSVP by replying to this email
In the event that your plans change, we'd be most appreciative of the courtesy of a cancellation.
Looking forward to seeing you on August 23 for our second 'high-wire act' with, as always thanks for your support and membership in The Luxury Marketing Council.
Hope the summer has been a great one for you business-wise and personally.
Cheers and Very Warmest Regards.
Gregory J. Furman
Founder & Chairman
The Luxury Marketing Council (since 1994)
About Paul M. Mc Manus
As president and chief executive officer of The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., Paul M. McManus is in the business of luxury. At the head of one of the world’s premiere luxury brands, he is an expert on the desires and preferences of the affluent consumer in this new age of luxury marketing.
Appointed to the position in January of 1998, Mr. McManus has been successfully re-engineering the transformation of The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. from the typical hotel representation model into the prestigious luxury marketing organization which represents over 430 of the finest five-star hotels, resorts and spas in the world. Additionally, under Mr. McManus’s direction, the company has been building upon the strength of its brand name through the launch of several new joint venture companies: Leading Group Sales, Leading Quality Assurance, Leading Financial Services, Leading Interactive Reservations, The Leading Hotel Schools of the World, Leading Service Provider Network , Leading By Design, Leading Insurance Services and The Leading Residences of the World.
Mr. McManus joined The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. in 1992 as vice president of marketing. He was promoted in 1993 to the position of executive vice president, at which time he assumed a number of duties of the president’s office, while continuing his responsibility for the company’s worldwide marketing efforts.
Prior to The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., Mr. McManus was president and managing partner of Reservation Systems, Inc., a company with 150 hotel accounts. During his hotel career, Mr. McManus has held sales and marketing positions with Regent International Hotels, Rock Resorts and Princess Hotels International, in addition to on-property positions at The St. Regis and The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, all located in New York City.
Mr. McManus is a noted industry speaker on a variety of topics affecting the hospitality industry. He is also an Advisory Board Member for the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management at New York University and a Trustee of The College of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Niagara University.
A native New Yorker, Mr. McManus was recently featured in the “Frequent Flier” column of The New York Times, and he penned an op-ed piece for The Wall Street Journal. He has also been profiled by such noteworthy publications as Travel + Leisure, Business Traveler, and EuroBusiness. As a luxury travel authority, Mr. McManus has appeared in interviews on CNBC and CNNfn addressing a variety of topics relevant to current trends in the industry.
He was also featured in a major article in Hors Ligne magazine as “A Man of Luxury”, as well as being named among the top “People of the Year” by Travel Agent magazine. Lodging magazine also focused on Mr. McManus and The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. in a lead article as being at the forefront in developing partnerships and alliances to exert greater market influence. Travel Agent magazine also named The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. as one of the four “Leaders in Luxury” companies in the hospitality industry. In addition, Mr. McManus received the Marketing Innovation Award from the German Tourism Industry Association, at the ITB in Berlin, Germany, for the development of the “Luxury Alliance” with Relais & Châteaux.
Most recently, Mr. McManus was honored with a Doctor of Business Administration degree in Hospitality Management, Honoris Causa, from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island, and with a Doctor of Commercial Science, Honoris Causa, from Niagara University.