Our Team
Click on the links below to find out more about the members of our Team:
- Phil Taylor - Managing Director
- Diana Taylor - Director of Resources & Marketing
- Nichols Brown Webber - Leisure & landscape architects (UK)
- Sinclair Design - Concept designers (USA)
- Britton McGrath Associates - Strategic marketing consultants (UK)
- David Mace reefLIVE - Marine life attractions (UK)
Phil Taylor - Managing Director
Phil has successfully combined an early career in project management with business administration to build up a significant track record in the development, creation and operation of a broad portfolio of successful leisure businesses. His career includes leading roles in the development and operation of Ski Dubai, The London Eye, Alton Towers Resort in the UK, Port Aventura Resort in Spain, Disneyland Paris and many more. He has also worked as a consultant to the Leisure Industry as a Director of the London office of Economics Research Associates, the world's oldest and largest leisure consulting firm.
Focused for the last eighteen years exclusively on the leisure sector, eight of which were as New Business Development Director for The Tussauds Group, Phil was most recently CEO for Ski Dubai, the world's first indoor real snow mountain resort throughout its development and initial operation.
Ski Dubai, which includes a dedicated snow play area aimed at Dubai's resident and tourist markets, uses real snow technology and is part of Majid Al Futtaim Group's US$800 million Mall of the Emirates development. Ski Dubai opened in November 2005 to worldwide acclaim and by the end of January 2007 had welcomed its 1 millionth guest. In November 2006 Ski Dubai was awarded a Themed Entertainment Association award for Outstanding Innovation, its seventh major international award in twelve months. The longer established London Eye, with which Phil was also directly involved, has to date won over 70 awards.
Phil has MSc and BSc degrees in Engineering, is a Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and has completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD, Paris.
Diana Taylor - Director of Resources and Marketing
Diana has extensive international business development, project management and marketing experience that has been gained across a range of industry sectors. As a consultant she was responsible for developing European projects in the educational and high-tech sector for submission for funding to the European Commission. Responsibilities included concept development, marketing, financial planning, partner search and presentation of the submission to the Commission. This was followed by a senior role for a leading international HR and recruitment consultancy practice where Diana was responsible for a portfolio of high profile recruitment projects for major companies in the Leisure & Tourism industry across Europe.
Later, as Project Director in the Business Development & Marketing Department for BIG, the central service provider for economic development & trade promotion of the State of Bremen in Germany, Diana was responsible for developing, implementing and delivering marketing strategies to promote the State of Bremen, successfully drawing in international investors from Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Most recently, prior to being a founding partner in Team Leisure, Diana worked as Group Exhibitions Manager for Messe Frankfurt, the third largest trade show organizer in the world. Diana was responsible for a portfolio of trade exhibitions, leading a team that managed all aspects of the shows, from marketing, PR and sales, development of the brand, through to staging the exhibitions and taking responsibility for their operational and commercial success. Diana successfully grew the portfolio by 100% in 3 years.
Diana has a Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in international management & marketing. She has worked and studied in Germany, France, USA and Sweden and speaks 4 languages.
Nichols Brown Webber
Nichols Brown Webber is a renowned firm of Architects and Landscape Architects who specialise in the Leisure Industry, particularly with projects on sensitive and difficult sites. The services they have undertaken include:
- Feasibility studies
- Masterplanning
- Conceptual design
- Obtaining planning & building approvals
- Detailed design & bid documents
- Realisation on site
- Project appraisal
Their work has extended from masterplanning and visitor studies through to the realization of individual projects such as the Splash Landings Hotel at Alton Towers with its richly themed indoor waterpark. They have a high success rate in delivering projects on time and within budget. They achieve this by paying particular attention to pre-contract programming, efficient management of resources and of other disciplines, comprehensive tender information and practical methods of building.
Andrew Nichols graduated from Bristol University with two first class degrees in architecture and was awarded a Thouron Fellowship to study landscape at the University of Pennsylvania. He has extensive experience of landscape, conservation and leisure projects in Europe and the USA and was a consultant director of The Tussauds Group.
Clients include the National Trust, Blenheim Palace, the Tussauds Group, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Warwick Castle, Port Aventura (Barcelona), the London Eye and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
Sinclair Design
Sinclair Design was founded in 2002 by the accomplished design team of Scott and Bonnie Sinclair. With over 25 years of experience Sinclair Design has played key roles in concept and design efforts on high profile projects for many prestigious companies such as Disney: Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland, Disneyland Marketing and Entertainment Division; Sony: Sony's retail entertainment center, Metreon in San Francisco and Mediage in Tokyo; and Radio City Music Hall Productions.
Recently Sinclair Design has taken lead creative roles in a number of ambitious projects. These include Paul Allen's Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, The National Agriculture Science Center Modesto, California, and Ski Dubai, an indoor skiing and snow play area in the United Arab Emirates.
Sinclair Design's years of experience and an association with many knowledgeable industry specialists have produced a company with a reputation of professionalism and teamwork.
Sinclair Design offers clients a diversified range of skills including:
- Art direction
- Master planning
- Full colour concept illustrations
- Marketing art storyboards
- Merchandising design
- Presentation packages
Britton McGrath Associates
Britton McGrath Associates is an independent strategic management consultancy specialising in the leisure and tourism markets.
Britton McGrath Associates is deliberately small with a core team of industry professionals all of whom have successful track records in marketing and senior board level management at some of the UK's leading attractions including Madame Tussauds, Alton towers, Warwick Castle and the London Eye.
Britton McGrath offers a bespoke service. No two projects are alike and they invest time in understanding each client's businesses, ambitions and needs. Examples of the types of projects they have undertaken include:
- Business planning
- Feasibility studies
- Strategic planning
- Tourism strategies
- Market appraisals
- Due diligence assessments
- Heritage Lottery Fund business plans
- Commercial reviews
- Concept review & development
- Market research management
- Identification & development of commercial opportunities
Clients include Aldar Properties PJSC (Abu Dhabi), Bristol Zoo Gardens, Cardiff City Council, Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, Dover Pride Regeneration Partnership, English Heritage, Parkview International plc (Battersea Power Station), People's History Museum, RAM Investments plc, Royal Horticultural Society, Sellar Property Group (London Bridge Tower), Watts Gallery, Zoological Society of London.
David Mace - reefLIVE
reefLIVE, founded by David Mace, has been involved in new concepts for marine life displays and visitor interaction. reefLIVE's areas of expertise cover all aspects of the project development process through to commissioning, systems implementation, operations and marketing.
Services include:
- Feasibility studies & site selection
- Business plans
- Concept designs, themes & storylines
- Project management
- Implementation and start up management
- Strategic marketing plans
- Staff recruitment and selection
- Quality control and performance maximisation
Practical, pragmatic and knowledgeable advice and support is provided based on previous experience gained from involvement in numerous projects throughout Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.
David Mace has been involved with developing, managing, operating and financing successful marine life attractions since the late 1970's. He originally founded the Sea Life Centre chain in the UK and developed and ran this business' expansion throughout Europe until the mid 1990's - since then the Sea Life Centre business has continued to grow and prosper under new ownership.