Two international guests will attend Goldman Group’s Conference being held in Melbourne in November. Jo Bailes, CEO of Singita and David Kolner, Executive Vice President of Virtuoso will grace the stage at Crown Melbourne to address over 170 attendees including teams from Goldman Travel, Travelcall, The Cruise Centre by Travelcall and SmartFlyer Australia.
Over 50 supplier partners will join advisors for a special Melbourne dinner experience, plenary session, supplier networking and a gala dinner.
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“We are thrilled that Jo and David will be joining us for some powerful conversations and networking,” said Anthony Goldman, Joint Managing Director of Goldman Group.
“Their insights and stories will no doubt entertain and inspire our audience”.
Singita is a leading ecotourism and conservation brand and its CEO, Bailes has a diverse background. After earning a Bachelor of Social Science degree and a postgraduate diploma in Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town, he completed an Honours degree at the Vega School of Brand Leadership. After initially working in retail for three years, he transitioned to hospitality, gaining experience at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts across Asia where he spent five years with the company in several flagship hotels across the Maldives, Singapore, and Hong Kong, eventually working his way up to Director of Food and Beverage of the Shangri-La Mactan’s Resort and Spa.
In 2019, he returned to South Africa to join the family business, Singita, taking up various positions as Director of Operations in 2019, and Sales in 2020, before becoming COO and later CEO in 2023.
In his role as Virtuoso’s Executive Vice President, Kolner leverages his vast depth of experience across key areas of the company to support global growth and accelerate value across the network.
Kolner was a driving force in the creation of the luxury travel network’s global expansion strategy and championed early work in establishing a foundation for the global teams in place today. Most recently, Kolner has worked in a strategic role, supporting the senior leadership team and the reimagined company. He also led the Network Product team in ensuring Virtuoso member and partner Access programs fit the business needs of the network in a new world where digital enablement supports human connection.
The Goldman Group/SmartFlyer Australia Conference will run from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 November.
