The Craigmyle Lecture 2015 was delivered by Sir Rocco Forte.
Sir Rocco Forte MA, FCA, FIoD. was educated at Downside, and Pembroke College Oxford, where he read modern language. While studying, he also won a Blue for fencing. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1969 and started work in the Forte Group, taking over from his father as CEO in 1992.
Sir Rocco set up his own group of hotels in 1996, initially known as RF Hotels and re-branded as Rocco Forte Hotels. The group encompasses ten hotels in Europe, Russia, and is soon to launch into the Middle East.
Sir Rocco was knighted in December 1994 for services to the UK tourism industry. He received the highest Italian accolade, the Gran Croce dell’Ordine al Merito della Republica Italiana, for his entrepreneurial merits and strong links with Italy in 2005. He was President of the British Hospitality Association from 1991 to 1996, and a member of the Executive Committee of the World Travel & Tourism Council.
The text of the speech is here.