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Press Release: Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs
May 25, 2004
SOUTHPORT, CT -- Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs' founder and CEO Rob McGrath joined fellow Dartmouth
and Tuck Scholar alumnus Jeffrey Immelt Saturday, May 1, at the Tuck School of Business "Greener Ventures
2004." This third-annual entrepreneurship conference featured a keynote address and fireside chat with Immelt
'78, chairman and CEO of General Electric as well as panel conferences with prominent alumni.
This year's conference focused on "Trends and Opportunities," concentrating on how entrepreneurs can
use the constantly changing world to their benefit. The conference brought numerous successful Dartmouth alumni
to speak on several different panels about their experiences. The panels were divided into three categories: Trends
and Opportunities, Execution, and Financing and Exiting. The mission was to encourage entrepreneurial activity
among members of the Dartmouth community. A total of 599 attendees registered, a thirty-three percent increase
from the previous year, with increased interest. The panels all stressed the importance of networking, working
with the right people and actively pursuing opportunities.
"There is no success without friendship," Immelt said, explaining that the best thing he accomplished
at Dartmouth was to develop an unbelievable set of friends who helped him through the tumultuous times during which
he was considered for succession to Jack Welch, former CEO of GE. When speaking of managing such a large company
like GE, he elaborated on the importance of working with and delegating to competent people.
Many of the panelists humorously referred to themselves as "serial" entrepreneurs, starting up nine or
10 companies before finally succeeding.
"The best way to start a company is to learn to sell yourself," said Rob McGrath '82 Tu '92, CEO of Abercrombie
& Kent Destinations.
"(Starting up a company) isn't very glamorous," McGrath said, "It's almost embarrassing, but it
pays off when you get more ownership (of the company) later on."
As a founder of Abercrombie & Kent's first destination club, Private Retreats, Rob helped to develop the company's
destination club proprietary model based on extensive research in real estate ownership and vacation trends. His
research showed the primary reason for not buying a vacation home was to avoid "feeling tied-down" to
a single resort. In 2003, Rob was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the YearŽ.
Prior to founding the first club, Private Retreats, Rob developed a $25-million luxury condominium fractional project
in Telluride, Colo., and co-developed a $45 million fractional project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Beginning in 1991,
Rob spent five years on Wall Street as a Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Trader at J.P. Morgan and Nomura
Securities, where he financed several billion dollars of real estate. Prior to his career in real estate finance,
Rob competed professionally for six years on the World Pro Ski Tour. He received his B.A. with honors from Dartmouth
College, where he studied Comparative Mythology and received his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth, where he
graduated as one of 10 Tuck Scholars.
Headquartered in Southport, Conn., Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs are the world's first and foremost
premiere destination clubs, offering Members unlimited use of a collection of residences, resort suites, yachts,
private aircraft, A&K tours and safaris, experiences & services in more than 60 locations on all seven
continents. The Clubs' Proprietary Capacity Model, which includes a broad geographic dispersion and limited number
of Members, virtually assures Members can travel when and where they wish. The benefits continue with complete
location flexibility, unrestricted and equal access to every location and very low member-to-residence ratio. For
more information, visit www.akdestinations.com.
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Contact:
Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs
Betsy Adler, 970-728-0961 x107
badler@akdestinations.com
or
The Blaze Company
Andrea Roebker, 310-450-6060
Karen Gee-McAuley, 310-450-6060
aroebker@blazecompany.com
Source: Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs