Associates
Grant Leisure senior associates represent nearly two centuries of experience in imagining, planning, designing, marketing and operating some of the world`s premier attractions. Grant Leisure brings to a client`s project senior managers and consultants who understand the challenges and difficulties in achieving successful solutions in the world of attractions.
Grant Leisure associates are selected for their skills, expertise in specific areas, and their ability to operate with a team approach, working with clients as partners and developing solutions that, in the end, appeal to both owners and visitors. After all, the visitor controls the revenue stream for an attraction, a bedrock principle that is deeply embedded in our company`s culture.
This is our world...
Andrew Grant, President/CEO
Andy Grant has logged more than 40 years in the attraction industry and has headed Grant Leisure since its founding in 1982 in London. Prior to his move to Europe, Andy served as head of personnel for Universal Studios Tour in its infancy, general manager of Busch Gardens, director with Economic Research Associates, and head of Wild Animal Park before assuming the post of Deputy Director of the Zoological Society of San Diego. For the past 27 years, he has created and managed one of the world`s preeminent consulting and operating firms. Grant Leisure has provided design, planning, marketing and operations services to attractions in 22 countries, which last year hosted more than 120 million paying visitors. He supervises a broad spectrum of attraction projects from the Grant Leisure office, now located in Montecito, California.
Robert Liljenwall
serves Grant Leisure as its marketing director. He served as head of advertising and promotion for Disneyland and vice president for marketing for the RMS Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attraction. He has extensive tourism experience, serving as a marketing consultant to more than 30 visitor and convention bureaus in the US. He served as head of Bright Strategic Design, which produced brand identities for National Car Rental, Princess Cruises, Miller Brewing, Virgin Cola, and Fox Studios. He also served as venue press chief for the 1984 Olympics and worked on the brand identities for World Cup Soccer and Women`s World Cup. He received his MBA from Pepperdine University in 1980. He teaches brand identity management, IMC, and strategic marketing at UCLA and is the co-author of "Marketing at Retail" (2004).
Andrew Coates
Andrew trained as an architect and for the last 17 years has worked across the full spectrum of skills needed to make leisure work, serving initially as an Projects / Operations Manager for the Zoological Society of London and until very recently as Managing Director, Leisure for MICE Group plc. Andrew is known for his pragmatic approach, able to balance the various tensions impacting on projects and operations to ensure results driven solutions. He currently consults across the range of Grant Leisure projects as Director of European Operations.
Eddie Hoare
Eddie is one of the world`s premier events producers and tour operations executives with more than 25 years experience. He has previously served as managing director and chairman of the well-known Elegant Days Limited, one of England`s leading specialists in client-driven events and hospitality. Elegant Days was the first company to provide corporate events at The Tower of London, Spencer House, and The Victoria and Albert Museum. Eddie currently heads Grant Leisur`s themed events and corporate hospitality consulting department.
Simon Ody
is one of Europe`s leading leisure consultants and has served as managing director of Grant Leisure for the past three years and worked with the firm since 1995. One of his main responsibilities was to oversee Real Live Leisure, a Grant Leisure subsidiary, which owned and operated three visitor attractions in the UK. In addition, he is called on to advise major corporate and leisure clients on all phases of land-use development, operations, marketing, and financial viability studies.
Raul Rios
serves as Grant Leisure’s director of projects after having worked for many years as project manager directing specialist projects such as the turnkey aquarium project in Sylt. Raul`s strong managerial and exceptional problem-solving skills are paired with an uncanny ability to influence different work environments and cultures fostered from his multilingual and international background. He is currently consulting across the range of Grant Leisure’s projects as director of United Kingdom and Middle Eastern Operations after having successfully completed a 3-year secondment in Germany with the MICE Group plc, where he acted as the group’s managing director of the subsidiaries, responsible for the turnaround, restructuring and merger of MICE Group plc’s German companies.
Andrew Coutts
Andrew, CEO and Partner of ILM-THR and head of Grant Leisure`s Portugal office, graduated from Dorset University (UK) and Switzerland (Lucerne). Bachelor of Science degree-2.1 achieved in Hotel and Catering Institutional Management. Andrew has twenty years of experience as a hospitality and leisure advisor to investors/developers and international hotel management companies. ILM is recognized as one of Portugal’s leading advisory firms in the area of resort and golf community development.
Barry Upson
is one of the world`s leading themed attractions executives having created and served as head of Universal Creative, Universal Studios Recreation Group`s master planning and design division. He directed the growth of Universal Creative from one person in 1979 to a 1,500-person team that managed the design/development for Universal Studios Florida, Universal`s Islands of Adventure, Universal Hollywood, and the creation of Universal Japan. Barry recently received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from TEA, the Themed Entertainment Assocation. He serves Grant Leisure as senior creative consultant.
Edmund Rowley-Williams
has worked on more than 200 projects for Grant Leisure since 1984. He has supervised feasibility studies, business and development planning, and preparation of workbooks covering all operational areas of the attraction, including marketing, operations, retail, food and beverage, and employee training. He has provided key operational and financial planning for Swiss Expo 02 and the Hannover Expo 2000, and was instrumental in the planning and development for tourism integration for the Tate Modern, Tower of London, Rome Museums, and Sony World (Berlin). He provides strategic tourism planning and economic analysis for Grant Leisure.
Abderrahim Halaimia
Over the past year and a half, Abderrahim has been consulting with Grant Leisure on a variety of projects in the Middle East, and has been assisting us in the evaluation of entertainment and leisure facilities there. Abderrahim brings an unusual combination of skills to Grant Leisure, having obtained a degree in business and then attended a school for hotel and restaurant management.
Randall Cox
With 25 years experience in developing and financing hospitality, media and gaming projects in emerging markets, Randall brings extensive financial structuring skills and global investor relationships to Grant Leisure and its projects. . Randall is expert in developing and packaging investment opportunities and matching these to the most suitable funding sources.
Tim Rusby
Project Management expert Tim Rusby has been an established personality in the aquarium & visitor attraction and museum industry for 25 years, working as a developer and operator, contractor, design manager, project manager, and business development and marketing consultant. At Grant Leisure he has played key roles in a diverse range of major aquarium and attraction projects, both in the public and private sectors, throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Originally a marine biologist, Tim’s role as a creative professional and practical visionary, coupled with his commercial awareness, energy and flair, result in unique project development contributions from feasibility assessment and first concept through design and implementation, commissioning and launch, operation, strategic marketing and business development.
Tim has been working within the Middle East, collaborating on and delivering a variety of successful projects since 2003.
Mohammed El Mistikawy
Edward Mestekawy has been in the broker dealer industry for the past 10 years as Managing Principle for Prudential Securities (1998-2003) and MetLife securities (2003-2008). He has many years of experience in raising capital for a variety of projects. In 1997, he underwrote a grant to help open the Chinese Museum of America in New York in 1997, remaining on board as a museum trustee. Mr. Mestekawy also raised funding for a gala event to start the Asian Women In Business Association in New York, an organization which has grown from three members to 18,000 currently. In 1998, he underwrote the grant for the Korean Film Festival. He is currently a partner and general principal for Coastal Financial Partners of Los Angeles, as well as founder and Managing Director for Habitant Egypt, a Cairo consulting firm that specializes in serving as financial advisor and project developer to the private business sector in Egypt. He brings to Grant Leisure his many years of business experience in the Middle East, coupled with an astute understanding of the leisure and tourism industry there.