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Global Leisure Partners LLP
17/18 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4PT, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 8050, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7016 8060
Web: www.globalleisurepartners.com |
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Team |
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Team
Founded by Mark Harms in 2004, GLP has built a strong team of professionals combining investment bankers, management consultants, lawyers and accountants. This provides a comprehensive set of skills and experience that has enabled GLP to advise to date on over US$42.5 billion transactions across Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
(Please click on a name for biography)
| Name |
Title |
Contact Tel |
Loc |
| Robert L. Decker |
Managing Director, CAO & Director |
+1 502 561 3431 |
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Robert Decker is a Managing Director, CAO & Director of Global Leisure Partners. His operational expertise has ensured that GLP has been able to grow successfully and capitalize on meeting the significant number of opportunities created since inception. In addition, Robert’s prior experience in the hospitality and racing industry continues to create potential investment opportunities in the UK and U.S. sector.
Prior to founding GLP, Robert was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Churchill Downs and Vice President Finance of Hilton International Corporation. At Churchill Downs Robert directed the Company's financial, treasury, investor relations, information technology and administrative functions during a period of dramatic growth. He also managed the Company's mergers and acquisitions of four racetracks, the capital transactions that funded them and directed the spin-off of the Company's strategic business into a separate operating unit. Mark Harms and Robert have worked together since 1997, when they devised and then collectively executed this strategic plan for Churchill Downs. Robert has a BS degree from Florida State University, is a Certified Public Accountant and is based in Louisville, Kentucky. |
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| Chris Gagnon |
Managing Director, President of GLCP & Director |
+1 212 605 7650 |
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Chris Gagnon joined GLP in September 2006 and is a Managing Director & Director of Global Leisure Partners. He is also President of Global Leisure Capital Partners, GLP’s co-investment and principal investment business. Chris brings an investor perspective to GLP and is able to leverage his strategic and operating expertise by working with GLP’s Operating Executive Advisors and Strategic Investors to develop new ways to create value in GLP’s investment space.
Previously, Chris was a Managing Director at Inverness Management. He has also worked in private equity at both Merrill Lynch Private Equity Partners and Blue Capital Management. In these roles Chris completed deals as both lead and co-investor, resulting in the investment of over $300 million in equity into deals and several billion dollars of enterprise value.
Before entering private equity, Chris was a Principal at McKinsey & Co. where he worked from 1987 to 1997 in Los Angeles and New Jersey. While at McKinsey, hotels and gaming were two of his special areas of client service. In addition, Chris was a core member of the Firm’s Organization practice and he led the team that wrote “Real Change Leaders” (Random House Times Books 1996). He is also the author of several articles on change management and governance in publications such as the Harvard Business Review. Chris has both a BA and an MBA from Dartmouth College. |
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| Lindsay Harms |
Managing Director & Director |
+1 212 605 7650 |
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Lindsay Harms, a Managing Director & Director of GLP LLP, co-founded Global Leisure Partners with Robert Decker and Mark Harms in 2004. Prior to this, she was a Vice President of Sales at Merrill/Corporate Printing and Bowne of New York, and a senior sales representative at R.R. Donnelley Financial. Lindsay also was Assistant Corporate Secretary of US Trust Corporation and the United States Trust Company of New York. Lindsay is also responsible for GLP’s marketing efforts, and she is a member of the Executive Committee.
Lindsay graduated from Skidmore College with a BA in Business and French. She is fluent in French.
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| Mark W.B. Harms |
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8057 |
US/UK |
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Mark Harms is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Global Leisure Partners. Mark has been involved in all aspects of GLP since inception in 2004 and has pioneered its strategic direction. This has led to GLP advising on over US$42.5 billion of transactions to date, deploying significant capital in a number of deals and developing an industry leading Operating Executive Network. Mark divides his time equally between the U.S. and the U.K.
Mark has significant experience in the leisure sector having completed advisory and principal transactions in North and South America, Europe and Australia over the last 20 years. With over 100 completed advisory engagements and with more than half of these in the fitness, gaming, hospitality and leisure industries, Mark brings a deep understanding and knowledge regarding the competitive strategies of the major companies in each industry sector. In addition, Mark has extensive experience with regard to leveraged debt, mezzanine and equity financing techniques in Europe and the U.S. with over US$100bn in completed transactions. Mark has a strong knowledge of financing markets worldwide, significant restructuring expertise and is also highly experienced in cross-border transactions.
Prior to founding GLP, he previously worked at Oppenheimer as a Managing Director and at CIBC as Global Head of the Gaming, Lodging, and Leisure Group as well as the Head of the Consumer Growth Group. Under his leadership Oppenheimer and CIBC developed a global reputation for financing and advisory excellence and leading market shares in each of the key financing product lines. Mr. Harms has a BA (Honors) from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is fluent in German. |
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| Mervyn Metcalf |
Managing Director |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8051 |
UK |
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Mervyn Metcalf joined Global Leisure Partners as a Managing Director in December 1998. Mervyn's areas of expertise include advising corporates and private equity investors in the retail, media, travel and online sectors.
At GLP, Mervyn has advised Guardian Media Group on the disposal of its regional newspaper business, acted on the acquisition of Wolseley’s Irish assets and is currently conducting the strategic review for Liberty PLC. Mervyn's other recent transaction experience includes, the pre-IPO sale of a 40% stake in moneysupermarket.com by the co-founder; the partial sale of Trader Media Group to Apax Partners by Guardian Media Group; the IPO and subsequent sale of Gondola Holdings to Cinven and the sale of lastminute.com to Sabre Holdings.
Prior to joining GLP, Mervyn spent almost 11 years at Merrill Lynch, where latterly he was a Managing Director in the group's UK investment banking team. Prior to that, Mervyn worked at Barclays de Zoete Wedd.
Mervyn has a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, both in Economics, from the London School of Economics.
Mervyn is also a member of the development group for the charity, Youthnet and a member of the University of Bath School of Management Advisory Board. |
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| Chris Mulligan |
Managing Director |
+1 212 605 7659 |
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Chris Mulligan joined Global Leisure Partners as a Managing Director in January 2009.
Chris’ has extensive advisory and capital markets experience, having assisted his clients complete over 100 transactions in the communications, media, entertainment, consumer and technology sectors. Previously, Chris led the Communications, Media & Entertainment Investment Banking Group at Royal Bank of Canada. He also was Head of NY Investment Banking at Wit Soundview. Prior to that, Chris worked at Citigroup and Salomon Brothers.
Chris has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College.
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| Tina Palastanga |
Principal |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8061 |
UK |
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Tina Palastanga joined the firm in May 2004 having previously spent five years at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in both the European Transaction Group and the Food, Consumer and Retail Group. Tina has since been involved in a number of major transactions while at GLP, including the sale of 50% of Atronic to GTECH Holdings, Permira’s acquisition of 30% in Gala Group at a £1.9 billion enterprise value, Gala Group’s £2.1 billion acquisition of Coral Eurobet, Hg Capital’s £76 million buyout of Sporting Index, the £31 million sale of the Clermont Club from Rank Group plc, Permira and Apax’s €1.14 billion acquisition of Italian gaming group Sisal SpA and the $31.2 billion leveraged buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. by Apollo and TPG.
Tina Palastanga was educated at Birmingham University and completed an Executive Management Training programme at INSEAD. She is fluent in German and Italian. |
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| David Bains |
Vice President |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8065 |
UK |
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David Bains joined Global Leisure Partners as an Associate in October 2006. Since joining, David has been involved in Permira’s 20% investment into Galaxy Entertainment Group for $840m, the $31.2bn leveraged buyout of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. by Apollo and TPG and is editor of GLP’s Quarterly Review. David previously worked as a Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in London. During his time at PwC, David worked in several teams focusing predominantly on the valuation of shares and shares options provided to senior executives of FTSE 100 entities. This provided exposure to several corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and IPO’s, across a variety of sectors.
David received a BSc in Business, Mathematics and Statistics from the London School of Economics in 2003, qualified as a chartered accountant in 2006 and gained the ICAEW Intermediate Corporate Finance Diploma in 2007.
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| Kevin Berry |
Vice President |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8045 |
UK |
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Kevin Berry joined Global Leisure Partners as an Associate in September 2008.
Prior to joining GLP, Kevin was an Assistant Vice President of Leveraged Finance with FirstLight Financial, a debt investment fund. At FirstLight, Kevin was responsible for investment analysis, transaction execution and portfolio management for leveraged finance transactions within the Food & Consumer market. While at FirstLight, Kevin’s investments supported deals sponsored by Apollo Capital Management, Catterton Partners, and American Capital. Prior to FirstLight, Kevin worked in the Consumer team within the Investment Banking Division of BMO Capital Markets.
Kevin received an MBA and BBA, summa cum laude, from Pace University with a concentration in Finance and Public Accounting. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Certified Public Accountant. |
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| Rob Britton |
Vice President |
+1 212 605 7655 |
US |
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Rob Britton joined Global Leisure Partners as an Associate in August 2008.
Prior to joining GLP, Rob was an Associate in the Leveraged Finance department at Citigroup. During his time at Citigroup, Rob worked on some of the largest leveraged buyout transactions in history, including the $30bn leveraged buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. by Apollo and TPG. In addition, Rob also helped raise $750m in Senior Notes for MGM Mirage. Prior to joining Citigroup, Rob worked in finance for The Estée Lauder Companies.
Rob Britton received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Wisconsin.
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| Michael Petschler |
Vice President |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8042 |
UK |
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Michael Petschler joined Global Leisure Partners in August 2006. Since joining, Michael has been involved in the $31.2 billion leveraged buyout of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. by Apollo and TPG and Crown Limited's $370m investment into Cannery Casino Resorts. Michael previously worked as an Equities Analyst for Macquarie Bank in Sydney, Australia. During his time at Macquarie, Michael provided stock coverage of companies in the Tourism and Leisure, Gaming and Media sectors. Michael also gained experience working and advising on a number of corporate transactions within the sector, including IPOs and mergers and acquisitions.
Michael Petschler holds a B.Commerce (Economics and Finance) from the University of Sydney and has completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from the Financial Services Institute of Australia. |
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| Andrew Diggles |
Associate |
+1 212 605 7625 |
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Andrew Diggles joined Global Leisure Partners as an Associate in September 2008.
Prior to joining GLP, Andrew was a member of Ernst & Young’s (EY) Transaction Advisory Service, Private Equity team in London. At Ernst & Young, Andrew completed the Private Equity Analyst Rotation programme, spending time within the Financial and Commercial Due Diligence teams, the Mergers & Acquisitions advisory team, and the Corporate restructuring team, focussing on advising private equity clients across a broad range of transactions.
Andrew received a BSc in Business Economics from Cardiff University in 2005 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2008. |
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| Frederick Hines |
Associate |
+44 (0) 20 7016 8066 |
UK |
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Frederick Hines joined Global Leisure Partners as an Associate in November 2008.
Prior to joining GLP, Frederick was an Analyst within the UK Investment Banking team at Merrill Lynch in London and formerly worked in the Gaming, Leisure and Transportation team in New York. At Merrill Lynch, Frederick was part of a UK regional team responsible for in-depth industry and company analysis and transaction execution. During his time at Merrill Lynch, he worked on a number of transactions including Rank Group’s sale of the Hard Rock Café estate for $965m, the acquisition of telent plc by Pension Corporation and the acquisition of Umbro plc by Nike Corporation.
Frederick received a BBA, summa cum laude, in International Business with a concentration in Finance and a minor in French from Howard University in 2007.
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