SAIL TRAINING INTERNATIONAL APPOINTS NEW CEO
Sail Training International has appointed Paul Reilly, 48, as its Chief Executive with effect from 1 November.
Much of Mr Reilly’s career has been with the Dutch international electronics company Philips where he has held a number of positions including most recently Vice President – New Venture Integration, Vice President and Managing Director Central Europe, and Director of International Key Accounts. He has also had other senior roles in marketing and brand management.
He has lived and worked in the Netherlands and Poland as well as the UK, and his most recent assignment involved working with Philips management in the Far East, Russia, the Middle East, the Americas and Europe.
“We had more than 200 applications for the CEO job and interviewed nine. We selected Paul Reilly because of his commercial and marketing strengths and international experience,” says Nigel Rowe, President and Chairman of Sail Training International. “We are not short of people who know about sail training and Tall Ships. So, we were looking for someone with significant commercial strengths in international marketing and business management as well as an empathy with the work we do. These qualities will help us drive our organisation to meet its full potential around the world.”
“The opportunity to help lead an international organisation that has the potential to grow and really a make a difference to the lives of young people is the big attraction of this job for me,” says Paul Reilly. “Sail training is a powerful tool for changing young people’s lives and Sail Training International has a strong record of achievement over the past few years. But it is also clearly an organisation that has many significant opportunities internationally that it has yet to fulfil.”
For further information contact:
Gwyn Brown
+44 (0)2392 586367
+44 (0)7802 640333
gwyn.brown@sailtraininginternational.org
Popularity: 28% [?]
SPITBANK FORT VENUE FOR DEE CAFFARI’S TEAM PARTY
AvanziniPress Release
3 April 2009
Being on land for any length of time clearly doesn’t agree with single handed round the world sailor Dee Caffari. This Saturday 4 April she is going off-shore again, this time to hold a party for her 200 strong team at Spitbank Fort, the Victorian folly, one mile into the middle of the Solent.
Spitbank Fort is no ordinary party venue and clearly Dee wanted to get back to where she is most comfortable – with the view of the sea all around her. It is one of the UK’s most fascinating maritime treasures with a wealth of history and character. Currently a museum, the Fort is available to hire as a party venue and is no stranger to hosting celebrities having seen Davina McCall there last year to celebrate her father Andrew’s 65th birthday.
The awe-inspiring construction of granite and iron was commissioned by Lord Palmerston, and completed in 1878. It was originally equipped with a variety of armaments to defend Portsmouth Harbour from invading vessels that had managed to break through outer defences in the Channel. After twenty years, the role of the fort was changed to counter light aircraft instead of heavy warships with guns being fitted on its roof and searchlights installed to aid visibility after dark. Though always equipped for high level defence, Spitbank Fort never fired a single shot in anger.
Nowadays it’s the sound of laughter that can be heard as parties of up to 500 people can be catered for and accommodation is available for those that want to make a night of it. It’s also holds very popular Sunday lunches with a fully licensed bar and kitchen that can cater for any occasion. Fresh water is not a problem for the Fort. Through a 400ft well that goes down through the channel into the chalk aquifer, beautiful clear, fresh water is always on tap.
Getting enough fresh air is often a problem for guests and delegates at parties and events, but at the Fort you are never very far from some stunning views and refreshing air.
No doubt Dee won’t have any trouble navigating to the Fort but for the rest of us, ferries are available.
For further information on hiring the Fort for your party or business venue, visit the website: spitbankfort.co.uk, email info@spitbankfort.co.uk or telephone 01329 242077.
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For further information and images contact Corinne Hitching, 077641 83866, email: Corinne.hitching@btinternet.com.
Popularity: 65% [?]
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400 DELEGATES FROM 28 COUNTRIES ATTEND SAIL TRAINING AND TALL SHIPS CONFERENCE
Four hundred delegates from 28 countries around the world converged on Halifax, Nova Scotia (14-15 November) for the International Sail Training and Tall Ships Conference 2008. Organised by Sail Training International in collaboration with the American Sail Training Association (the biggest of Sail Training International’s 25 member national organisations), the conference had an overall rating from delegates of close to ‘Excellent’.
Sail training vessel operators from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and throughout both Europe and North America attended, along with representatives of host ports from Europe, the Caribbean and North America. The conference comprised a mix of plenary sessions for all delegates and an á la carte menu of 16 ‘focus group’ sessions. These covered a range of topics from dealing with the current ‘economic tsunami’ and navigating the regulatory seas, to recruiting trainees, the development of a successful sail training programme, and the ingredients of a successful Tall Ships event. The conference also included a session for the Sail Training International Youth Forum, attended by 40 young sail trainers from 15 countries.
The Rt Hon Rodney MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia, opened the conference and a dramatic new two-minute film aimed at attracting young trainee crews to participate in Tall Ships events was premiéred. (This can now be seen on http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/page.asp?partid=959)
It was also announced that Sail Training International’s Conference in 2009 will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, one of the host ports for the Historical Seas Tall Ships Regatta, being held in 2010.
Popularity: 30% [?]
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