David Pantin

Prior to pursuing his own ventures in 2005, David Pantin was, for five years, Managing Director of UK luxury hotels group, Rocco Forte Hotels, responsible for its hotels in the UK and Eastern Europe. He was also a member of its board of directors.

Before joining RF Hotels, David was a Senior Vice President for the hotels division of Hong Kong’s largest company Hutchison Whampoa. He led the pre-opening of the US$450 million Our Lucaya in the Bahamas, one of the largest integrated resort developments in the world. Our Lucaya consisted of: 1,270 bedrooms, 50,000 sq ft convention space, 2 PGA Championship golf courses, 35,000 sq ft of gaming and a 20,000 sq ft spa.

David Pantin’s career commenced in 1977 as a management trainee with Trusthouse Forte Exclusive Hotels. He had early management positions in the company in some of its leading hotels, including the Hyde Park and Westbury Hotels in London and the Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York. He worked thereafter in a number of varied roles in marketing, corporate administration, and development in the United States, Middle East and Europe including periods as personal assistant to the group managing director in London, and executive assistant to the president of THF in the United States. The company was, at that stage the largest hotel and catering business in the world with over 800 hotels.

Senior executive roles with THF commenced with the turnaround of London’s renowned Café Royal which served up to four thousand covers per day, where he doubled revenues, revitalised the brand image of the business and won a number of industry’s most notable international awards. He subsequently served as Vice President responsible for Forte’s Caribbean business, resort and golf hotels , which he managed until the acquisition of Forte plc by Granada in 1996. He then took up an appointment as Vice President Operations, Hilton International UK before joining Hutchison Whampoa.

David holds an MSc in Hospitality Management. His thesis on Education in the Workplace won him the Roger Bennett Outstanding Global Master from IMCA. He is a contributing author with Butterworth Heinemann, industry lecturer and speaker, and a past judge of the UK Independent Hotel of the Year. He served as non executive Chairman of Dawnay Shore Hotels plc in 2004 and 2005 during its acquisition and subsequent management of leading mid market UK hotel group Paramount Hotels. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and holds professional qualifications from both the US and UK Hotel Associations.