Board profiles
Board of Directors
Andrew Macdonald of Boisdale. BSc. MBA.
Director and Chief Executive
Andrew has over 13 years experience working in IberoAmerica and the Spanish markets within the USA. He has worked for the past six years in Cuba, developing and rolling out the Floridita brand in conjunction with Sol Melia and Conran Holdings and is the founder of the Cuban specific businesses. His relevant experience in the leisure sector includes leading EQA projects for two of the ‘leading hotels of the world’ and also created and launched the first 5 star spa and fitness club in Santiago, Chile. In addition, he worked on the privitasation of Eastern Electricity in the UK and whilst working for the Chilean government he was responsible for assisting in the privitisation of various hydro electricity entities. He also led the first implementation of the ISO standards and IIP in Chile. He holds a BSc and an MBA from Cambridge University.
Brian Wilson
Chairman, Havana Energy
Brian was a Member of Parliament from 1987 until 2005, and served as a Minister of State from 1997 to 2003 (Scottish Office 1997–1998, Department of Trade and Industry 1998–1999, Scottish Office 1999–2001, Foreign Office 2001 and Energy Minister, DTI 2001–2003). After standing down as a Minister prior to his departure from Parliament, he was asked by Tony Blair to act as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Overseas Trade. Brian holds directorships in a number of energy related businesses and continues to publicly comment on UK government energy policy, particularly on the subject of nuclear power. Both as Energy Minister and subsequently, he has called for Britain to retain a balanced energy policy with contributions to our electricity needs from nuclear, renewables, clean coal and gas.
Bjorn Linden
Independent Director
Bjorn Linden has over 20 years of experience in investment banking having worked in Scandinavia, US and the UK. He was President and CEO of Carnegie Inc. in New York for five years. At present, Bjorn works for Handelsbanken Capital Markets as head of securities, fixed income, FX and commodities internationally. Bjorn holds a BSc and an MBA from the University of Lund in Sweden and Ecole Superieur de Commerce de Paris in France.
Marcel Elefant
Independent Director
Marcel has had over 40 years in managing a multinational company, pioneering entry into various emerging markets including China (1985), Russia (1963). He has a wealth of experience in managing foreign operations and multimillion dollar developments (building six factories in different countries). He is currently Chairman of General Woods and Veneers Ltd In addition to the above, Marcel has been involved in property development over number of years. He was a founder of the Vermont Golf Course and continues to be an active golfer.
Michael Phair
Independent Director / Shareholder
Michael has over 25 years in experience in investment banking including executive positions at NM Rothschild and UBS. Recent hotel projects include the purchase and sale of the 11 Courtyard by Marriot Hotels in the UK and the development of a franchise for Value Place aparthotels in the United States.
Edward Hohler
Hospitality Director
Edward is currently running his own commercial and residential property portfolio throughout Europe. In 2003 he formed a hotel company base2stay Ltd (base2stay.com), listed in the top 20 places to stay in London 2009. Edward was founding owner of Bellamy’s Restaurant W1 (2006).
David Wright
Director
Has over 30 years experience in the retail fashion sector. He built up two large retail groups, one in ladies fashion has 40 units and the other which he sold a number of years ago in surf ware . He has been active in the technology sector and is a director of Hotech Edge Ltd and Hiperfactory. He is actively involved and is a significant shareholder in the Hallenstein Glasson Group, a company that leads mens retailing in New Zealand and is now expanding abroad from its base of 150 stores. He has a BSc in marketing from Auckland University.
