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Pierre-Yves Gerbeau

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Former CEO of The Millennium Dome, Business Commentator and Keynote Speaker

It can take a life-time to become a corporate business icon. It took Richard Branson a decade and we are still not sure when we hear “Sir Richard” if it refers to the Virgin King. Yet the letters “PY” can only be one person.

PY Gerbeau’s career to date has included Captain of the French Olympic Ice Hockey Team, Vice President of Park Operations (including the toilets!) at Disneyland Pa...

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...ris (Europe’s biggest visitor attraction), Chief Executive of the Dome and today, he runs the biggest Leisure Property group in the UK……and he’s a scratch golfer too!

PY was Chief Executive of the Dome from February 2000. He delivered the UK’s most successful ever paying visitor attraction and a master-class in media management. The 2,000 Dome employees held him in the highest regard and he only took 3 days holiday in 9 months (on one of those days, he won the Pro-Am in the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews). He also did not leave until March 2001 when all 2,000 employees had found new employment. His interpersonal skills were a key reason that Disney CEO Michael Eisner recommended him to Tony Blair.

In September 2001, PY was appointed Chief Executive of Xscape, the ultimate entertainment destination. The inaugural site in Milton Keynes has the largest real snow indoor ski-slope in Europe with over 40 shops, bars and restaurants. PY has overhauled the operation and refined the concept to deliver an innovative and unique mixture of retail, leisure and entertainment. As a result, 2002 saw visitor numbers increase by over 25% and the site became profitable for the first time. In 2003 Xscape Castleford was opened and Xscape Glasgow opened in 2005.

PY also purchased 19 shopping centres/parks from MWB to create the X-Leisure Group making it the UK’s largest retail/leisure property brand. It was one of the major stock market property deals in 2003.

Under his leadership X-Leisure has implemented a comprehensive programme designed to enhance and grow its portfolio of entertainment and leisure destinations and, as a result, has become the market leader within the leisure property arena. PY’s extraordinary vision on the subject of entertainment, and his determination to enhance the visitor experience has proved hugely successful.

PY’s extensive knowledge and experience of developing, leading and managing programmes has meant that his concepts have become widely regarded as the most successful and innovative for the leisure/retail/attraction industry in the last 20 years.

PY has brought excitement and a new level of visitor experience and expectation to mixed-use retail and leisure developments. He can now boast over 40 million visitors to the three Xscape destinations nationwide, at Milton Keynes, Castleford and Glasgow.

PY is energetic and loves to talk, but without this passion and direct style he wouldn’t have achieved the success he has so far. He was voted Communicator of the Year 2001 and Leisure Property Personality of the Year 2003, has a ‘hands on’ approach to the business and exudes a type of joie de vivre that is extremely infectious. Give PY the time and he will give you an experience.

PY has an MBA from one of France’s leading business schools, teaches on the MBA programme of the London Business School (where he has won the student’s vote as leading lecturer for the last 2 years).

Regarded as one of the UK’s leading corporate speakers, PY’s speeches can be structured to involve relevant commercial issues to your business (brand management, leisure facility management, corporate rescue, corporate finance, media relations, employee motivation, politics & business) in the context of PY’s commercial experience.