South West Leadership Event Delivers Impact and Inspiration

02 October 2025

The South West Region of the GCMA hosted a highly successful Leadership Event last week at The Bristol Golf Club, bringing together over 30 managers and industry professionals for a day of education, insight and discussion.

The programme included two engaging sessions from Kevin Fish of CCL Ltd, who shared his expertise on how to present a professional proposal to a club owner or voluntary board. Kevin highlighted the importance of soft skills in the early stages of engagement, helping managers make proposals desirable to decision-makers before moving into the structure of a full, formal presentation.

Delegates then heard from GCMA CEO Tom Brooke, who delivered a thought-provoking presentation on the theme of being “Future Ready”. His session explored what this concept means in a rapidly evolving golf landscape, and the role of managers in ensuring their clubs are prepared to adapt and thrive.

The morning continued with a panel discussion on key industry topics, chaired by Leighton Walker of the Golf Club Talk UK podcast. The panel featured the CEOs of both BIGGA and the GCMA, alongside two representatives from England Golf. The discussion was lively and insightful, providing attendees with a broad view of the challenges and opportunities currently facing the game.

After lunch, attention turned to innovation in course management with an in-depth look at robotic mowers. Chloe Boissell-Marshall from Tidworth Garrison Golf Club shared her club’s journey in assessing whether robotics were the right fit, and the thorough consultation process undertaken with members before gaining approval at a General Meeting.

The day concluded with an energetic and practical workshop from Sam Poole of Aquila, who demonstrated how AI tools can free up time for managers by streamlining administrative tasks. This session sparked plenty of discussion about how technology could further support the role of the modern golf club manager.

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with delegates praising the variety and quality of content, the relevance of the topics, and the opportunity to network with peers. There is already strong anticipation for the next South West Education Day, building on the momentum of this outstanding event.

By Mark Shanley

More from Your Association

GCMA Benevolent Fund Update

4 Dec 2025By Mark Shanley

At the GCMA AGM in April, changes were agreed to…

Save the Dates: AGM and National Members Championships 2026

27 Nov 2025By Mark Shanley

We’ll once more be heading to some of the UK’s…

Two Weeks Later: How to Turn Your Conference Experience into Real Progress

27 Nov 2025By Natalie McColl

It’s been a couple of weeks since we were together…

John Steele

John Steele is a former professional athlete, sports coach, Olympic Leader and is the Executive Director of Sport at Loughborough University. He has been Chief Executive across a range of sectors. Drawing on leadership experience of nine different Olympic and Paralympic Games (including the amazing events at the Rio Games), John reflects on the lessons from this unique period in British sport and relays his fascinating views on creating high performing teams.

Indeed, inspired from PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, by the most successful performance ever for Team GB, he has a whole host of new business and leadership insights into how this was brilliant performance was achieved and how it can translate back into your organisation.

John moved into the corporate world, before he enjoyed an outstanding career as a professional rugby player achieving international honours. After his playing career, he turned his hand to coaching and achieved the highest accolade for a British club coach by winning the European Cup with Northampton Saints. He then became Executive Director on the Saints Board during a period of unprecedented growth, and served on the England Rugby Board during the successful world cup campaign of 2003. It was no surprise that John’s talents were called upon to drive through a change and modernisation programme as CEO of the Rugby Football Union – a challenge that became controversial and ended in his departure from the post after only a year, but with his dignity and professional pride intact.

Headhunted by UK Sport, John took up post as CEO the day before London won the 2012 Olympic bid – and this promising start was sustained as he embarked on developing the UK’s high performance sport system, which he led for a six-year period of unprecedented success through the Beijing and London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Post-London 2012, with the Olympic legacy in place and an obligation to continue inspiring a generation, John took up his post as Group Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust. He has also succeeded Steve Cram as Chairman of the English Institute of Sport, an organisation described as ‘the team behind the team’, which delivers a range of performance impacting solutions to over 40 Olympic and Paralympic sports and some non-Olympic sports.

This will close in 0 seconds

Dr Jo Salter MBE

Dr Jo Salter MBE is famed for becoming the first female fast jet pilot, having flown the Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft during her services in the Royal Air Force. Joining the RAF aged 18, Jo has since taken Air Cadets into the skies as part of Air Experience Flights, become the Director of Global Transformative Leadership for PWC, and most recently become a Global Advisory of GenAI for PwC.

Jo has piloted flights in the Air Cadets Air Experience Flights and inspired countless budding armed service members to pioneer a male-dominated sector, having been the leader of an all-male squadron. Since leaving the military behind, Jo has established a strong business career working in roles such as Head of Technical Services for NetConnect, European Operations Manager for Automated Power Exchange and Managing Director of Saltin Ltd.

Having developed first-class expertise in leadership, analytical thinking and performing under pressure, Jo is now a highly sought-after public speaker to share stories from her time in the skies.

Jo is a passionate Trustee of The Royal Air Force Club and an Ambassador of the Global Angels charity, an organisation that gives communities around the world access to clean water, education, healthcare and encourages female and youth empowerment. Jo has also authored two books, titled Energy: 52 Ways to Fire Up Your Life and Become an Energy Angel and Energize: Spring Clean Your Mind and Body to Get Your Bounce Back Today and Every Day.

In recognition of her achievements throughout her career, Jo has also been named as one of the 50 Most Inspiring Women in the World by Harpers & Queen. She is now working as the Director of Global Transformation Leadership at PWC, after working in other roles such as Director of Risk Technology Strategy, Director Chief of Staff to Head of Technology & Investments and the Director of People & Organisations.

In 2022, Jo was invited personally by Tom Cruise to attend the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick. Most recently, Jo received an honorary doctorate of Arts from Bournemouth University.