Ian R Douglas has a demonstrated history of helping deliver resorts and multi-faceted leisure projects, and is well-versed in the fields of private equity and family wealth management. Through his company, Phoenix Global [established in 2016], Ian harnesses his experience to deliver more substantial tourism projects, which have included Cape Town International Convention Centre’s GrandWest Casino, Dubai’s Atlantis the Palm, the Mazagan Beach Resort in Morocco, and the One&Only Resorts in Cape Town, the Maldives, Dubai and Mexico.

Ian founded his first business and took on his first directorship in 1997, when he began a four-year tenure as executive director of SunWest International. He established the company and led the bid that responded to every aspect of a highly competitive government tender and won the single casino license granted for the entire Cape Town metro area. In 2000, he also took on the role as CEO of Convenco [The Cape Town International Convention Centre Company], his second business, which was responsible for establishing the world-class international standard Convention Centre in Cape Town.

By 2008, having left his roles with SunWest and Convenco, Ian began working with Kerzner International, assisting the firm’s chairman with new developments undertaken by the company including the sourcing and subsequent assessment of new opportunities and the co-ordination of all planning and development of new properties. He remained in this position until 2014, when he began a two-year spell as executive officer of SK Hospitality, the entity responsible for the management of the private family office of Sol Kerzner, based in London.

2016 brought the launch of Phoenix Global, which now operates as a boutique consultancy providing management services and strategic advice to the hotel, destination resort, meetings and leisure industries. Ian remains managing director of the business to date.

From 2017 to 2019, Ian helped establish three more businesses, namely the Quandor Property Club [functioning as a networking club for property professionals focusing on developments in excess of £1 million in value], hospitality company Kingham Leigh, and hotel challenger brand Port Hotels Ltd [of which Ian sits as chairman today].

In May 2021, Ian became a director of another new business, the Salisbury Development Group. He balances these responsibilities with his other three senior roles.

In July 2021, Ian appeared on a Leaders Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland podcast, discussing the importance of leadership and the impact it has had on his career to date.