In 1984, at a time when South Africa was beginning to feel the consequences of international isolation and sanctions, and when the tourism and hospitality industries faced bankruptcy and failure, Protea Hotels was launched – without a cent of capital and with just four hotels. Under the leadership of Arthur Gillis, the Protea Hotels Group grew from the initial four hotels to over 130 hotels operating in seven African countries, and is today the largest and leading hotel operating company in Africa.
Arthur is currently the CEO of Platinum Hospitality Holdings, a leading hotel asset management company with approximately 15 hotels in South Africa.
He has been extremely active in all facets of the hospitality industry and has received many industry awards. He was recognised by a highly esteemed business community, having received the ABSA Jewish Achiever of the Year Award for non-list companies in 2008.
Where do you think your ‘MAGIC’ comes from? | Insatiable curiosity.
What do you think is often the difference between people who are good at what they do and people who are great at what they do? | Persistence and getting up again when knocked down.
What are the principles and values that you believe are important to live by? | Respect for human dignity.
What is your biggest weakness? | A belief that everyone around me is honest.
What are the most important lessons you have learnt so far, in your career or life journey? This could be anything from very simple small lessons to much larger bigger lessons. | To remove myself from toxic relationships as soon as possible.
What is the best advice you have ever received? | Narrow your business focus and pursue it relentlessly.
Who inspires you and who are your role-models? | My wife Lauren who sees only good in people and works tirelessly for those who don’t have opportunities.
Roman Rezac is a prolific South African retail entrepreneur with 25 years experience in a constantly evolving environment. He was an International knee-board surfer before he made his passion for beach lifestyle into a career. He opened his first Surf store in 1993 in Durban with borrowed capital and with hard work and perseverance he […]
Alex Okosi is a Nigerian-born, US-educated media executive responsible for developing and launching MTV Africa (MTV Base) in February 2005. Currently, he is responsible for managing the growth and development of the Viacom International Media Networks Africa business – a multichannel portfolio that reaches over 100 million viewers and includes MTV, MTV base, Nickelodeon, VH1, […]
Derek Sivers is best known for being the founder and former president of CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians. A professional musician (and circus clown) since 1987, Sivers started CD Baby by accident in 1997 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell […]
Phil has more than 24 years’ experience in the fast-moving consumer goods industry in various senior positions. Phil has previously served as COO – Africa for Coca Cola SABCO and as an Executive Director at Tiger Brands. My Definition Of Success | Success is two-fold. My job is extremely important to me. That said, as […]
Douglas Rogers is a Zimbabwe-born journalist and travel writer based in New York City. His book, The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe, was published in 2009. The Last Resort is a remarkable true story about one family in a country under siege, and a testament to the love, perseverance, and resilience of the human […]
Adam Garone is the CEO & co-founder of the Movember Foundation, who are literally changing the face of men’s health, raising funding and getting involved in prostate cancer research. They have raised over R4.5billion and funded 700 men’s health projects with over 4million people involved. The Essence of Movember | The idea for Movember started over a […]
Passionate about international education and providing diverse academic options to committed learners, Angela Franklin (a native of Cincinnati, Oh) has worked in West Africa and the United Arab Emirates in the development and implementation of several international branch campuses. Franklin has extensive professional experience working with international partners to develop collaborative programs. As the Director […]
Carina Schmid Legacy Project is the co-founder and CEO of The Global Experience, a non-profit organization and international youth media network dedicated to increase the intercultural dialogue. Since being in high school Carina enjoyed exploring different fields of work, including media production, marketing and journalism. A trip to Namibia eventually changed her life and made […]
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