Shaun Bird has been appointed General Manager of Sandton Convention Centre. Formerly Complex Operations Manager at the Grand Palm Hotel, Casino and Convention Resort in Botswana, Shaun Bird brings with him a wealth of experience in the management of convention facilities and hotels.
Born and raised in Durban, Bird entered the hospitality industry as a graduate in Hotel Management. His path has seen him taking on the challenges of varied positions in four and five-star hotels, both in South Africa and in London at the four-star Holiday Inn Kingscross and five-star Le Meridien Waldorf, initially gaining experience in banqueting. His return to South Africa saw him developing skills in the management of high volume, high quality businesses, particularly during his time with The Fedics Group’s Leisure Division, managing the entire Food and Beverage operation of the Country Club Johannesburg Woodmead and the Carousel Casino, and assisting at other properties including the Pecanwood Golf Estate and the Morula Sun.
Bird’s first position in Botswana was as Manager of the Gaborone International Convention Centre before he returned to Johannesburg to take up the position of Food & Beverage Manager at The Westcliff. After taking the entrepreneurial route in an engineering business, which gave him an even greater understanding of business ownership, he was offered a position at The Grand Palm, Gaborone, where he has occupied the position of Complex Operations Manager since 2009, with responsibility for all aspects of the operation, with the exception of the Casino. During this time, among the many successes achieved by the management team was the awarding of Botswana’s first five star grading to the hotel in 2010.
Says Marcel von Aulock, Group CEO of Tsogo Sun, “We have no doubt that Shaun will be valuable asset and addition to the Sandton Convention Centre team, bringing a wealth of both local and international experience in the running of a large convention facility. We look forward to his input in the coming months.”
