Paramor and Cook headline GCMA 2021 Conference

The high-profile speakers keep on coming ahead of a not-to-be-missed GCMA 2021 Conference in November…

Former top golf referee John Paramor will kick off the opening night of the 2021 GCMA Conference in November.

The ex-European Tour chief, who has spent four decades officiating at the world’s best tournaments, will regale delegates at Wyboston Lakes with tales of his time on tour on Sunday evening, while former double Olympian and twice Commonwealth champion swimmer Chris Cook will discuss ‘The Power of Keeping Things Simple’ when he is the closing keynote speaker on Tuesday.

Cook will lead the audience on a journey of his climb to the top of his sport and the mindset that saw his career reach a different level.

Registration is now open for the three-day event, held between November 21 and 23 at the Bedfordshire resort, and you can book your spot by visiting the dedicated Conference website here.

The three themes for the Conference, under the GCMA Inspire, GCMA Hot Topics and GCMA Know How banners, are Leadership and Wellbeing, Sustainability and Technology in Golf.

Paralympian Danielle Brown and The R&A’s Chief Development Officer, Phil Anderton, are among those who have also confirmed as speakers and the GCMA can now announce the keynotes who will address the theme of Technology in the sport.

Peter Kirk is an authority in software technologies across the many operations faced within today’s club industry.

He is the founder of Parconex, a first of its kind within the club industry that provided managers and owners with a full software consultancy service that is both unbiased and oversees the research, negotiation, implementation and project management required to ensure a right solution everytime.

With over 34 years’ experience working with clubs around the globe including, Education City GC, Qatar, The Machrie, Scotland and Hog’s Head Resort, Ireland, Peter has earned a reputation as an industry expert in the application of technology within the golf club setting.

His obsession with technology and how quickly the tools of our trade change, Peter is regularly called upon by various Golf Industry professional associations to share his knowledge with their members.

Peter previously worked as General Manager for Jonas International for over eight years.

A founder of international golf club marketing company, Open Fairways and instrumental with the success of BRS Golf, Peter understands what it takes to run a successful and sustainable club.

Scott Seaborn is a digital transformation expert, having moved from the early days of mobile advertising and through a range of customer interaction and digital strategy roles. He has helped a range of businesses tackle change and the digital world with positions at advertising giant Ogilvy, Aimia (the owners of loyalty systems encompassing millions of customers globally, including the Nectar card) and international consultancy firm Wipro.

Starting out in mobile advertising in a time before Android and iOS, Scott has witnessed and led the world of mobile from gimmicky ad platform to the dominant method of interaction, going online and an essential tool to everyday life.

As Head of Mobile Technologies at Ogilvy Group, his work for a huge range of clients won more than 20 advertising and creative awards. At Aimia he helped reinvent the business by creating a platform for all of the company’s brands that married customer data with their mobile data.

As well as the wealth of technological change and opportunity, Scott delves into how businesses can understand those changes, and what to do to respond.

By examining the nature of change throughout history, he entertainingly looks at humanity’s development from cave-dweller to their obsessive use of smartphones.

He then looks at the context of whatever change a business has to deal with and follows that with a simple to implement process of how to solve the problem and embed on-going innovation into an organisation.

Steeped in both digital and transformation, Scott looks at how companies, people and technology come together.

As well as considering how businesses can embrace the digital and reinvent themselves for a new era, he also looks at some of the key technological changes that are to come, from what new hardware will do, to the interconnection of our digital profiles, applications of AI to our expectations as consumers. He examines how innovation works (and doesn’t work) and the challenges businesses face.

Scott’s role at outsourcing company Capita, and previously at global consulting and technology company Wipro, has seen him help all types of businesses realise the power of technology and draw together diverse systems under a single, digital operation.

He is also the co-founder of a charitable tech project that aims to use AI and the power of personal stories to help those feeling isolated and alone.

For all the latest news from 2021 GCMA Conference, and how to register your place, visit our dedicated website here.

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By GCMA Content Team

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