Geoffrey Kent and Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio have named Michael Wale as the new President and CEO of the Abercrombie & Kent Group.
Michael Wale joins the luxury travel company from Kerzner International, the owner of Atlantis and One and Only Resorts, where he was CEO. Before joining Kerzner, his career spanned almost 40 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, culminating as President for Europe, Africa and Middle East, directly overseeing the operations of 250 hotels and resorts, for its 10 brands, in 60 countries. His new role will be effective 1st October 2020.
“With Michael, Abercrombie and Kent will start an exciting new chapter,” said Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. “When guests book a holiday with us, they know we will guide them to amazing places, but the destination is a given. What they expect from us – and what keeps them coming back – is how we go the extra mile. Michael’s extensive experience in guest services and operations will take what A&K is known for to the next level.”
Geoffrey Kent added: “Michael Wale has a remarkable track record of steering leading luxury brands towards unequalled heights. We look forward to working with him to elevate Abercrombie and Kent’s profile and achieve even higher standards of excellence.”
Michael Wale is currently based in Dubai and will be relocating to Monaco. He will continue his association with Kerzner International as he joins the Board of the company.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Abercrombie and Kent at this pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Michael Wale. “I have travelled with A&K before and understand its distinctive approach to luxury experiential travel. I also look forward to working with Geoffrey and Manfredi, two titans of the travel industry, to build a bright future for our guests, partners and staff.”
Abercrombie and Kent is the world’s leading luxury and adventure travel company. Founded by Geoffrey Kent and his parents in 1962 as the first luxury safari outfitter, A&K’s award-winning travel services now extend around the globe to more than 100 countries on all seven continents.
Recent innovations include Inspiring Expeditionsby Geoffrey Kent and Wings Over the World, regional journeys that combine the advantages of luxury small group travel with the comfort of privately-chartered flights.
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Barclays bank has teamed up with the Blue Marine Foundation to help with their goal of making at least 30% of the world’s oceans protected, and the rest sustainably managed, by 2030.
Barclays and Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE), an institutional partner of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, have banded together to save our oceans. By creating marine reserves, restoring habitats and establishing models for sustainable fishing practices, they are taking bold action to ensure the oceans remain living entities for future generations.
The partnership involves a three year and €5 million commitment to conservation efforts around the world. Specific programmes include the creation and maintenance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, developing architypes of sustainable fishing practices to be followed by the other 70% to show fisher communities the benefits of low-impact fishing on their hauls and on the environment, and working toward restoring damaged marine habitats to revive and protect vulnerable and threatened species.
Over three billion people worldwide rely on seafood as their primary source of protein and 10% depend on fishing-related industries for their livelihood. The ability of the ocean to “perform” is under threat by global warming, acidification, overfishing, and massive amounts of pollution. If the rate of degeneration keeps up at its current pace, global fisheries will collapse by 2048.
Many leading scientists believe we only have a decade to address the ocean crisis before the harm is irrevocable.
By putting in place sea sanctuaries and implementing better practices, the chances of the ocean’s survival are far greater. Improvements in fish populations up to 670% have been witnessed in marine protected areas, proving that these measures do work.
The Retail Trade Observatory has met for the first time since lockdown was lifted to discuss the actions taken by the government to jumpstart business as well as what local merchants are doing to make Monaco an attractive retail centre.
A meeting of the Retail Trade Observatory brought together players from across the spectrum of the Monegasque trade sector as well as representatives of the National Council, the Town Hall, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, the Monegasque Real Estate Chamber, IMSEE , the Association des Industries Hôtelières de Monaco, the Union of Merchants and Craftsmen of Monaco, and the State Services concerned by this sector on Wednesday, 29th July.
Minister of Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini chaired the meeting as those present reflected on the current state of affairs and to discuss themes that had been of concern before the crisis began.
The meeting gave the government a chance to lay out the measures it has been implementing in the past weeks in favour of economic recovery and making the commercial venues of Monaco the most enticing possible for customers.
It was also an opportunity for the participants to take into account the arrangements that should be put in place, in the short, medium and long terms, in order to give new impetus to Monegasque trade and food services.
The meeting concluded with Mr Castellini wishing to give support to those businesses impacted by the health crisis and to confirm the need and commitment to put solid measures in place, as well as financial stimuli, to get the Principality’s commercial sector back on its feet.
Monaco Life catches up with Alan Walsh at his new gallery in Monaco, where the worlds of vintage racing and Riviera glamour intersperse to bring brightness back into an uncertain world.
With his wife Emily and giant poodle Alfred, Alan burst onto the Monaco art scene in June, his bold Pop Art/Art Deco screen prints illuminating from the new gallery space on Rue Grimaldi.
Alan had planned to showcase his racing-themed selection during this year’s Grand Prix, but then the coronavirus hit and Monaco’s main event was cancelled. Still, the artworks serve as a relevant link between this UK-born artist and Monaco’s long history with motor racing.
Monaco Life: You have some very clear themes in your work here – glamour and racing. Where did the inspiration for these come from?
Alan Walsh: My father was a race car engineer, so I grew up in racing. When mum finished work on a Friday afternoon, we would drive to a circuit that dad was racing at, and to entertain me there were pencils and pens in the back of the car, as well as magazines – racing and fashion magazines, like Vogue.
My mother would also drag me around shopping and I would always go and look at the watches and jewellery. So, I also have an attachment to shopping and fashion.
But I didn’t ever want to be a fashion illustrator or anything like that, I wanted to create a combination of fashion and racing.
So that’s where my influences come from, and the same things still inspire me today.
How do you describe your art?
What inspired me as a child is Andy Warhol’s Pop Art. I was also influenced by the advertising surrounding racing, a lot of it was French alcohol advertising, like Martini. There were a lot French illustrators doing that at the time. So, my influences were a mixture of Art Deco advertising and Pop Art. That’s why I use Pop Art colours with Art Deco illustrations.
I get ideas from a lot of old magazines and books, which my wife and I collect. I love ripping apart old magazines and creating mood boards. Also, the French Riviera has always inspired me – the colours of the sky and the sunsets, the lovely pinks, yellows and blues. Just being here for me is inspirational. I don’t have to go through magazines as much now as I did, for example, when I lived in Australia. There is so much inspiration here, my brain can’t keep up.
What’s been the reaction since you opened the gallery in June?
It is an exceptional year so with regards to targets, we have had to be a bit more realistic. But the first weeks have been great. Our very first customer was from Paris and brought a picture, so it proves that people are travelling again, while many others are local customers. I also have buyers from London and America who have seen us on Instagram.
The Monaco Grand Prix was going to be our big moment but its cancellation has also given us time to find our feet with things like couriers and logistics, so when we do get hit next year with three GPs and the Monaco Yacht Show, we will be ready.
I believe that people are looking to have their lives brightened up again. So many people have said to us that one of the things they learned during lockdown is that they need more art on their walls, after living in the same house for a few months straight or looking at the same picture. My work is all positive colours, bringing brightness to the world again.
Emily and Alan Walsh
Why did you decide to establish a gallery in Monaco?
In 2014, I set a goal of setting up a gallery in the French Riviera, in the place that has inspired me since I was a child.
I spent 16 years in Australia and while I was there, I collaborated with Formula One Monaco Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo and Blue Coast Brewing to launch Ricciardo’s No. 3 lager. That’s when we started coming here to see where we were going to live. We eventually made the move in August 2019 and we decided on the Principality because I had this connection with Monaco through motor sports. Plus, it is more international here than the French Riviera.
We chose this particular space because we didn’t just want a gallery, but an experience. I have a studio out the back where people can watch me making a picture, have a glass of wine with friends, and have the possibility of buying it. We want to do events, for example, with a guest speaker from motor racing, and create a motor racing themed picture, which people can take home. So, we want to make a unique experience, and this space allows us to do that. Plus, it is right in the centre of Monaco.
It has taken me three galleries to get here. I even slept on a pile of screen printed t’shirts in the first one because I couldn’t afford a gallery and an apartment. But Emily and I have come a long way together. We work well as a team.
Where do you see your future?
For the next few years I just want to focus on Monaco, because the last few years I have spread myself so thinly over so many different projects. I also have a partnership with the Hotel Martinez in Cannes, so that’s this base covered. Some collaborations with other brands would be nice, but I’m keen to just keep this gallery for now. We love this area and we want to be here long term.
What other themes can we expect to see in your gallery?
Over the past weeks, I have seen Port Hercule filling with yachts; I see the trails behind those boats and think “That will make a nice picture…”
I would also like to do some cycling pictures, a collaboration with someone local. So, GP, boats, and cycling – all of these things interest us and they are part of the Riviera and Monaco. It makes sense to stick to subjects that are relevant to Monaco because this is where we are, and we love it here.
MV Agusta and champion Italian motorcycle racer Virginio Ferrari have launched their new project, the Monaco Design Studio, specialising in the design of unique, one-off models for the brand’s most demanding clientele.
The Studio was founded by three-time Italian champion and World champion motorcycle road racer Virginio Ferrari, who has a long history with MV Agusta.
In 1994, he established Virginio Ferrari Racing which in 1998 became the official MV Agusta importer in the Principality, catering to an affluent and international clientele. It was here where Virginio Ferrari and his team were able to personalise the brand’s most prestigious models, creating unique pieces of ‘motorcycle art’ for the exclusive enjoyment of their passionate owners. Photo by MV Augusta
Engineering wizard Kazuhito Shimizu, who has been with Virginio Ferrari from the beginning, joins the Monaco Design Studio together with Designer Alexandre Dauly, who joined the group in 2013.
“If there had to be one place where to take MV Agusta’s prestige and exclusivity one step further, it had to be Monaco, and Virginio Ferrari had to be the man at the helm,” said Timur Sardarov, CEO of MV Agusta Motor. “The launch of the Monaco Design Studio is only the due official recognition of Virginio’s extraordinary work in all these years. He and his team deserve every success in this exclusive venture.”
Virginio Ferrari, founder and owner of the Monaco Design Studio, added: “In the mind of every biker, we find a desire for the personalisation of their motorcycle, so that it gets even closer to their absolute ideal. Over 100 MV Agusta one-offs prepared by us for customers from all walks of life under the guidance of our designer Alexandre Dauly, have proven us right.”
The Hospital Tunnel will be closed in both directions due to a possible rockslide situation falling from the Jardin Exotique.
The Hospital Tunnel will be closed from 7:30am on 31st July to 7pm on 2nd August to make the necessary repairs and shore up an estimated four tonnes of rock that is threatening to tumble from the walls at the site of the consolidation works at the Jardin Exotique.
A special team of mountaineers will work to fortify the area, requiring complete closure of Boulevard de Belgique at the tunnel in both directions to both car and foot traffic. Anyone wishing to go to the Princess Grace Hospital will only be able to do so by using Avenue Pasteur. Pedestrians will additionally be able to access the hospital by using the Revoires lift on Boulevard de Belgique to Boulevard du Jardin Exoitque, and then taking the hospital lift from there.
A few parking spaces will be inaccessible during this time period.
Once the initial work is completed, a second phase will be required to further strengthen the site, which will occur from 7:30am on the 3rd of August until 7pm on the 8th of August. An alternating traffic pattern will be in effect, with emergency vehicles having priority.
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