Gary Thomas
Gary was born in Swaziland and learned to speak Swazi before he could speak English. He spent his early childhood in boarding school before moving to South Africa where he lived on the Indian Ocean in Durban. After completing high school, he joined the military to complete his national service, spending an additional couple of years on active duty in Southern Africa attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant. Once Gary left the military, he went right on to study and complete his degree in hospitality management. Having caught the hospitality “bug”, Gary then spent several years working post college in Cape Town before relocating to London – where he spent the next 10 years working and travelling in a variety of lifestyle properties and loving every minute of it. Gary says he was born to be in hospitality as his paternal grandparents and father had both been in hospitality having owned and operated hotels, so hospitality is in his blood. Gary shared during the interview process that he was so thankful he has been able to find a career that has afforded him the opportunity to travel and live around the world - being able to meet so many different people and experience the beauty of so many different cultures. Over the course of his career, Gary has overseen an array of esteemed lifestyle brands throughout the US and overseas. Most recently Gary led operations for MakeReady Hotels and a large part of his formative years were spent with Ian Schrager and the Morgans Hotel Group. He also served with The Lightstone Group & Bridge Hotel Group. He developed a deep operational skill set as Area General Manager for SBE Hotels as he led the re-branding of The Redbury New York and the pre-opening of the SLS Park Avenue. In addition, Gary served as General Manager at the SLS Beverly Hills and was the opening Managing Director of The LINE in Los Angeles.
- Property TypesHospitality
- Websites
- Company WebsiteVisit Site
- EducationSchool of Hotel & Catering Administration, Durban University of Technology (AAS)