WIT*e

Giovanni Angelini, the former CEO of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, and who fully retired from the group in April, will be the guest speaker at the second WIT*e – Inspiration & Mentoring on June 25.

Angelini will share his story and experiences gained from 46 years in the hospitality business in an interview with Yeoh Siew Hoon, WIT’s producer.

“I’ve known Giovanni for a long, long time and in his long career, he’s been an inspiration and mentor to many,” said Siew Hoon.

Staff of Shangri-La has called Angelini’s departure the end of an era for a group that grew by leaps and bounds under his tenure. Under his watch, staff turnover was kept at a minimum, an accomplishment he was personally proud of.

Angelini was known to be obsessed with people issues and believed that a company’s success rested on the quality of its people and that people needed to be taken care of.

Angelini was appointed CEO and Managing Director in July 1999. He remained on the board after his retirement was announced. In March, he left the board, saying it was time to take a break after more than four decades in the business.

He’s won several awards including Asia Pacific Hotelier of 2005 by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, recognised for “his achievements in and dedication to the Asia Pacific hotel industry and a steadfast commitment to excellence”.

Angelini’s commitment to people can be traced back to his childhood. His formative years were spent in a small town called Castignano within the Marche region on the Adriatic Coast of Italy.

It had a population of 3,000 and everyone knew each other and helped each other like a big family.

“My father was so uneasy when he had an argument with someone,” Angelini told All Business in an interview in 2006. “Growing up in that environment, one learns a lot in terms of values, attitude, respect and sense of belonging.”

He added: “To this day, I feel very uncomfortable to manage in a harsh way.”

And his favourite part of being a leader: “I love to develop people and see people achieving their career and professional goals.”

The second WIT*e will be held at Cinnamon Room, Level 5, Novotel Clarke Quay, from 6-9.30pm. Entrance fee of S$20 covers food, drinks and plenty of inspiration. Visit for more information.

To register for the event, please contact Vera Lye at [email protected] (T: +65 9737 7771) and Illka Gobius at [email protected] (T: +65 6728 3820).

ABOUT WEB IN TRAVEL | WIT-Web In Travel is Asia’s leading travel distribution, marketing and technology conference. 2009 is the fifth year the conference will be run. It was started by journalist Yeoh Siew Hoon.

WIT is different to traditional conferences in terms of content, delivery and attitude. The content is deep, rich and meaningful. The delivery is varied, diverse and impactful. The conference has an attitude that challenges speakers to be at their best – no sales speeches and platitudes, but provoking and thinking – and delegates to question, discuss, debate and challenge. With each WIT, the conversation gets better and the discussion more interactive.

In 2007, WIT introduced questions by SMS and allowed audience voting by SMS as well for best debators, best speakers and best pitches. In 2009, we take our presence further. We are using Web 2.0 technology to reach out to an ever widening network of colleagues with similar passion, engaging them through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, newsletters and micro events, WIT*e – Inspiration & Mentoring networking forums, leading up to the main conference to be held on the 20 -23 October, 2009 at Suntec City in Singapore.

WIT won the Most Innovative Marketing Initiative in the 2008 Singapore Business Events Awards organised by the Singapore Tourism Board. For more information, please visit .

Illka Gobius
+65 9105 8268
webintravel.com