Willie is a passionate leader with over 20 years of extensive experience in sales, commercial, marketing, and communications in various senior Sales & Marketing roles within award-winning hotels. Willie has previously been with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (now Marriott) at the Sheraton Pretoria Hotel & Towers, hosting world leaders and royalty over many years to opening the Westin Cape Town, Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa (a Luxury Collection Hotel at the time) as PR and Marketing Director. After Cape Town, Willie took the helm once again as sales leader and a regional position for Starwood’s PR and Marketing for Sub Sahara Africa and later opening the first Africa global sales office in Johannesburg at Starwood for its global brands such as W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien.
Willie’s heart drew him back to Cape Town and in 2011 he joined Michael Pownall, then General Manager of Taj Cape Town, as Director of Sales & Marketing. During his tenure at Taj, he managed to exceed all expectations in all the market segments, which resulted in him being nominated for many awards as a keen strategist and brand specialist.
In 2020 Willie joined Valor, to develop the sales and marketing strategies for the various iconic hotels and lodges on the Africa continent, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts first voco branded hotel on the African continent, which opened in Rosebank, Johannesburg in February 2022.