THE CLUBS OF KINGWOOD - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant F & B Director
- Assistant Food & Beverage Director Deerwood
Aaron Omar Rios is the Assistant F&B Director at Deerwood and a graduate of the University of Houston where he studied Computer Information Systems. He is interested in technology and finding ways to optimize systems and services. Aaron is driven to be the best and motivate others to do the same and has achieved several notable accomplishments including Dean's List at Lonestar Community College, membership in the CODERED computer hackers club, and several high school doubles champion medals. He has also made a successful career in the hospitality industry.
Ally Clark is a native of Houston who graduated from the University of Houston in the winter of 2022 with a Marketing and Sales degree. Having completed the Program for Excellence in Selling at UofH, Ally was introduced to the Clubs of Kingwood after seeking an internship in Event Sales. Before this, Ally had interned with an event planning company that did many weddings at places like the Corinthians, River Oaks, and Houstonian. Through that, she discovered her love for events and decided to follow that career path.
With 13 years of Food & Beverage experience, Andres makes for a valuable member of our Team. Earning honors such as MVP of Q2 of 2022 and Employee of the Month in his 2 years at the Club. Andres was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and speaks Spanish, English, and Portuguese. He worked from busser to management at Pappas in the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was awarded Employee of the Month five times, Employee of the Year two times, and #1 at the Pappas Bar Seminar. His hard work and management skills make him an asset to our Food & Beverage Department.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Treasurer
Andrew Lacko has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since November 2019. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Regis Corporation and has extensive experience leading Finance, Corporate FP&A, U.S. and international Business Unit Finance, Corporate Development and Investor Relations functions at multiple Fortune 500 companies. He has a proven track record of building and developing high performing, results driven finance teams and leading financial transformations, business optimization initiatives and large/complex corporate development transactions. His past roles include leadership positions at Hertz Global Holdings, First Data Corporation, Best Buy, Northwest Airlines and UnitedHealth Group. Lacko holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Master of Business Administration from Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Born in Houston, Blake began his culinary journey as a cart attendant at Deerwood Country Club at 15. He graduated from Kingwood High School in 1993 and worked as a prep cook in various Kingwood restaurants before pursuing his culinary dreams at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Subsequently, at Terranea Resort, his roles evolved from cook positions to Jr. Sous Chef, where he spearheaded an Organic Farm program and created Terranea's Chef amenity program. In 2019, Blake was promoted to Sous Chef, overseeing multiple outlets and maintaining his role as the Organic Farm Manager.
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer
Brian Koch joined Invited in August 2021. Prior to Invited, Brian served as the Chief Information Officer for Diamond Resorts and was responsible for IT strategy and operations, supporting 10,000 associates and hundreds of sites and affiliates. Brian also worked with top leaders in the resort industry, such as Wyndham Destinations and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Brian is an executive leader in global information technology with extensive experience developing and executing IT strategies in alignment with corporate objectives. He has successfully built global teams during all business cycles, including high growth, downturns, and acquisition integration. Brian has an established record as a business leader and holds a bachelor's degree in decision science from Indiana University.
Executive Chef, Bruce Ross, is a local Texan with over 25 years of extensive culinary experience after following his passion for food and wine. Although he began his higher education at Texas A&M, majoring in biology, his love for the culinary world instilled by his mother soon took over, changing the direction of his career. Chef Bruce's culinary vocation moved him quickly up the ladder, leading him to over twenty years as Executive Chef in some of America's premier private clubs, hotels, and dining establishments in Houston, Seattle, Dallas, and Santa Fe. Bruce has taught cooking classes throughout the country, appeared on television cooking programs, contributed to several cookbooks. He strongly believes in fresh, seasonal ingredients as well as supporting local markets and farms. As a Level One Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers, he has married that passion for food with his love of wine to create a spectacular and unique dining experience.
Job Titles:
- Director of Fitness & Sports Center
Cathy joined the ClubCorp team at Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club in March 2010 as a group fitness instructor. In 2012 she became the group fitness coordinator and in 2013 she started personal training for the club. In November of 2021, she was hired on as the Fitness Manager. She felt she got the best of both worlds, being able to positively impact people individually through her personal training and all members in her role as Fitness Manager. Cathy was a scholarship gymnast at the University of Pittsburgh where she was a math major. She loved coaching gymnastics for many years. It was an easy jump from coaching gymnastics into coaching fitness which she did in 2001. She has her personal training certification through NASM and numerous other continuing education certifications. Cathy has 2 sons whom she is very proud of. Her oldest Cole is a school psychologist in Southern California and her youngest Jake is in PA school at High Point University in North Carolina. Both were collegiate lacrosse players. Cathy loves spending time with friends and family. She enjoys hiking and spending time anywhere in, on, or around water. She is a dog lover and a Pittsburgh Steeler fanatic. Cathy and her husband Steve are excited for their next chapter in Kingwood TX. She is looking forward to the opportunity to work for the Clubs of Kingwood and still be a part of the Invited Family. She strives daily to exemplify our motto Building Relationships and Enriching Lives.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President of Club Operations
Chuck Feddersen has served as our Executive Vice President of Club Operations since January 2018. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Golf and Country Clubs, and Senior Vice President of the Business, Sports and Alumni Clubs and led the Atlanta golf region following the acquisition of Sequoia Golf. Prior to that, he served in multiple regional vice president roles in the Golf & Country Club division and in multiple operational roles during his career of more than 25 years with Invited.
Claudia began her career at the Club 26 years ago. She specializes in the culinary field and currently oversees all recipes and food menus for Claudia's Taco Shop. Claudia's commitment to the Club has made her an asset to many departments within our Team. Claudia's goals and aspirations are for the taco shop food to be known at other clubs as a unique addition for our Members and Guests. Claudia is a mother of 2 and a happy grandma of four. In her personal life, Claudia loves to cook and bake for her family.
David Pillsbury was named CEO of Invited in June of 2018. He has held numerous leadership roles in the golf industry over the past 30 years, starting his golf career at American Golf Corporation (AGC). At AGC, Pillsbury led innovations including the formation of American Golf Country Clubs, the Private Club Member Platinum Program, the Nike Golf Learning Centers, centralized tee time reservations, and much more. After American Golf, Pillsbury became GM of Nike Golf, responsible for all U.S. operations, marketing and sales. Following Nike Golf, Pillsbury was President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties Tournament Players Clubs (TPC's), and he was then promoted to President of PGA TOUR Championship Management including THE PLAYERS, and Executive Vice President of PGA TOUR Tournament Business Affairs. Most recently, he held CEO roles in the healthcare and consumer products industries. Pillsbury received his MBA from the USC and his BA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Food and Beverage Director
A native of Long Island, New York, Dylan has been with The Clubs of Kingwood since 2012. Dylan has held a number of positions since beginning his career in Food and Beverage as a Kahuna Café Food Runner. Dylan has held the following positions: Pool Server, Back Waiter, Server, Banquet Server, Kahuna Café Manager, Banquet Captain, Banquet Manager, and now Director of Banquets. During his 10-year career at Kingwood, Dylan has earned the following honors, earning MVP of Q2 for 2021, and ClubCorp Super Star in 2019. Dylan prides himself in being a valuable team member while building relationships with members and guests through delivering wonderful experiences with events here at the Club. When he is not spending time at the Club or with friends, Dylan enjoys watching soccer, experimenting with Food and Cocktails, and working out.
Emily Decker has served as our Chief Legal Officer since May 2019. Prior to that, Ms. Decker served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. from 2011 to 2018, providing departmental oversight for Legal, Enterprise Risk Services, Government Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy. While at Buffalo Wild Wings, she also helped create and implement strategies to grow the company and provided legal counsel in developing brand strategy. She holds a J.D. from University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Sous Chef Kingwood
Job Titles:
- Head Golf Professional Deerwood
- PGA Member
George Ancuta is a quarter century PGA Member and is PGA Certified in Golf Operations, General Management, Instruction and Retail. George has amassed a tremendous record of accomplishments throughout his career. He has served on the Board of Directors in the New Jersey PGA Section and on various National PGA Committees. He has been awarded National PGA of America 2014 Merchandiser of the Year and has won several PGA Section awards including Merchandiser of the Year and The Patriot Award. He is also a Certified Club Fitter, USKids Golf Coach, ADM-American Development Model Coach and PCA-Positive Coaching Alliance Coach. George has been a key player at prestigious clubs in NJ including Arcola and Alpine, he has been the Head Professional at Knickerbocker, Knoll and recently McHenry (IL) Country Clubs. He loves golf, its history and its traditions, however George's passion is helping members and guests have fun, teaching and playing golf.
Job Titles:
- Director of Golf Course Maintenance
Jeremy Lewis is the Director of Golf Course Maintenance at The Clubs of Kingwood. He has over 25 years of experience in the Golf Industry, holding a variety of different roles. Once he started working in the agronomy field in 1999, he knew exactly where his career path was heading. In June 2016, Jeremy joined the staff here at The Clubs of Kingwood coming from The Falls Resort in New Ulm, Texas just south of Brenham. He married his college sweetheart, Tara, in 2006, and they have 2 beautiful daughters, Gabrielle and Savannah. When he is not here working, he and Tara are more than likely spending time together or hauling their girls back and forth to dance classes or soccer. Jeremy's love for the game of golf is something that he tries to show through his work. Being a golfer himself, providing our members with premium playing conditions while maintaining high quality health for the turf is his constant focus. Jeremy is a Class A Superintendent with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and received his education from Penn State University in Turf Management/Agronomy.
Job Titles:
- Director of Restaurants Kingwood
Jillian grew up in Kingwood! She graduated from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In college is where she found her love in working at country clubs! She worked at Indiana Country club as a Bartender and Beverage Cart through college. She then went on to work at Five Star Platinum Club Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA. She is very excited to be back in Kingwood working at her home club!
Job Titles:
- Director of Racquet Sports
John Kudrick has been in the tennis professional business since 1985 when he joined the staff at Westwood Country Club in Austin, Texas. John found out early that his true love of tennis was more off the court than on. He has been in the club business since. He has been a part of Houston tennis since 1991. John was Director of Tennis at Hearthstone Country Club, Junior Director at Copperfield in 1994 and Director of Tennis at Giammalva Racquet Club until he acquired Copperfield Racquet & Health Club in 2004.Although John did not pursue any professional or collegiate dreams, he has had the pleasure of hitting or playing with many wonderful players. Ricardo Acuna, Kevin Curren, Vijay Armitraj, Roy Emerson, Owen Davidson, Cliff Drysdale, Nicolas Kroon, Friday Otebar and Sammy Giammalva to name a few. John still enjoys teaching the sport he loves and seeing the growth of his students of all ages and abilities.
Jordan is a Houston native with over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management from the Conrad N. Hilton College at the University of Houston. After she graduated, she started her career as the Sales & Events Manager at the Hilton Garden Inn located in the Galleria, executing corporate meetings and private social events. She continued to build her passion for directing events as the Events Manager at Houston Press where she executed 25 anural large scale social events such as The Taste Makers Menu of Menus. Jordan and her husband relocated to the Middle East for four years where she dedicated her time to philanthropic roles and starting her family. Jordan now lives in Houston with her husband and two children and is proud to call The Clubs of Kingwood home, as the Sales and Events Director.
Job Titles:
- Member Experience Director
- Member Relations Director
Kelly Paull, Member Relations Director, has lived in Kingwood for 17 years. She brings a vast knowledge of the Lake Houston community and experience as a Community Relations Director from previous professional positions. Kelly is involved in multiple local organizations, including Leadership Lake Houston and the Humble Rotary Club. She also volunteers her time with many other non-profit organizations in our area, such as Humble Area Assistant Ministries, Family Time Counseling and Crisis Center, In the Pink, Family Promise, and The Village Learning Center. Kelly enjoys planning events and working with both Members and the community to create unforgettable experiences here at the Clubs of Kingwood!
Kristen brings 20 years of Food & Beverage experience to The Clubs of Kingwood Team. She began her F&B career as a hostess for Amedeos in 2002, and shortly after, was promoted to server. When Raffas first opened in Kingwood, Kristen was recruited as the lead server, trainer, and bartender. Following Raffas, she began her work as a Catering Sales Manager and Inside Sales Representative at Panera Bread. Kristen has worked for The Club beginning in January 2020 where she was quickly promoted due to her leadership, knowledge, and commitment to the Team. Kristen grew up in Kingwood and was the point guard for the KHS JV Girls' Basketball Team. Her hard work and leadership are integral to the inner workings of the F&B department.
Lily Delgadillo is from Racine, Wisconsin. She moved to Houston in June 2011. New to the city, her first job opportunity was to work for ClubCorp as a Server at the Downtown Club in October of 2011. Her eagerness to learn allowed Lily to grow in various positions, such as a Snack Bar Attendant, Hostess, and Assistant Office Manager, in the first two years of employment. Lily's passion for helping others and building relations gave her the courage to want to become the Office Manager. In July 2013, Lily was allowed the opportunity to achieve her goal. Lily had the privilege of working at The Greenspoint Club, The Downtown Club, and now The Clubs of Kingwood. In Lily's free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and taking spontaneous road trips around her new home state, Texas.
Job Titles:
- Membership Sales Director
Meg Tollison has served as our Chief Membership Officer since 2020 and is responsible for transforming the Member experience using data driven strategies focused on Member engagement and retention. Meg has responsibility for all aspects of the Member journey and leads a team of talented Member Experience leaders with a relentless focus on delivering experiences that exceed expectations and member satisfaction. Her career at Invited spans more than 29 years and previous roles include Chief Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President Marketing, Vice President Membership Services and Programs, and Director of Membership Operations. She received a degree from the University of Texas.
Patrick is a native Texan, was raised in Houston, and has been in the hospitality industry for 35+ years. He began his career at The Four Seasons Hotel as a bellman while attending the University of Houston and was sparked with passion for the hospitality industry. After ten years and a solid foundation from his various leadership roles within Four Seasons, he found his niche in private country clubs. Patrick has served the Members and Employee Partners as General Manager & Regional Manager for a number of Clubs in the Houston, Dallas, and Florida areas including Bay Oaks Country Club in Clear Lake, TX, Jupiter Country Club in Jupiter, FL, Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, TX and The Clubs of Kingwood, one of the World's largest and most unique private clubs. Patrick has truly enjoyed serving as GM of The Clubs of Kingwood for nearly seven combined years including 5 years (2011-2015) and since his return in February 2021. Patrick and his wife, LaDonna of 30+ years, have two grown children in the Houston area and are proud grandparents to three beautiful granddaughters and one grandson. Patrick is a proud graduate of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston and a past recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Peter Kent - Chief Commercial Officer
Peter joined the Invited team in November 2021. Before joining Invited, Kent served as Chief Commercial Officer for ILITCH Sports and Entertainment managing commercial aspects of the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, 313 Presents, and Olympia Development. At Ilitch Sports, Kent managed all aspects of sales, pricing, revenue management, strategic partnerships, sponsorship sales, and more. Kent also worked as Regional Sales Manager at Nike Golf back in 2002. He then joined Dave Pillsbury, our CEO, four years later at the PGA Tour. In total, Kent spent 11 years with the PGA Tour as Senior Vice President Global Business Development/Tournament Revenue. He managed global sales efforts for all properties/tours under the PGA Tour umbrella. Early in his Tour career, Kent helped lead retail business for the PGA Tour and TPC properties.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- President
Robert (Bob) Morse has served as our President and Chief Operating Officer since September 2020, and was Chief Operating Officer from January 2019 to August 2020. Prior to his role at Invited, Morse served as President of Hospitality for Caesars Entertainment Corporation in Las Vegas, where he was responsible for development, implementation and execution of Caesars hospitality strategy throughout the company's network of resorts. His experience throughout his vast nearly 30-year career in the industry also includes executive operations positions managing sales and marketing, human resources, information technology, hotel accounting, design and construction and the opening of new properties. Bob holds a B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President - Operations City & Stadium Clubs
Job Titles:
- Director of Tournament Sales
PGA Professional Ron Zaborowski is a native Texan who grew up in the hill country of New Braunfels. After a 7-year stint in California working construction and going to school, he moved to Kingwood to be close to his family. Ron started working at Deerwood Club as an Assistant Golf Professional in 2012 where he immersed himself in the culture of the club learning the complexities of running the business and building relationships with the membership. During his tenure at Deerwood, he completed his PGA schooling and received his Class A certification in 2017, was promoted to Head Golf Professional, and laid the foundation for Deerwood as we know it today after Hurricane Harvey took its toll on the Kingwood community. That same year, Ron married his wife, Jackie, and now has two young boys, Lincoln and Hudson. In 2021 Ron advanced his career once more, attaining the position of Regional Director of Tournament Sales at Kingwood Country Club. He brings his members-first mindset and relationship-building skills to a part of the operation that has benefited from a change. Ron is proud to be part of the Clubs of Kingwood staff for the past decade and looks forward to serving its members and the community in the years to come.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Chief People Officer for Invited
Sherry Vidal-Brown serves as the Chief People Officer for Invited and brings experience from the hospitality and service industries including American Airlines, G6Hospitality, Accor, FedEx Office and Caliber. Her passion for talent management and diversity focuses to drive cultural change to improve the employee experience. Sherry is a strategic leader who drives change to accelerate growth and achieve business objectives. In addition to Sherry's responsibility for HR, she has overseen internal and external communications and corporate social responsibility departments. She is passionate about creating a culture that delivers a great experience for its customers and employees. She holds a doctorate in psychology from Texas A&M, as well as an MBA in Marketing/Management from The University of Houston and an undergraduate degree from Baylor University.
Job Titles:
- Head Golf Professional Kingwood
Stewart joined the team in November 2022 moving from the Northeast of England after spending 16 years as Head Golf Professional at Teesside Golf Club, where Stewart ran his own business in golf retail, teaching & custom fitting. Stewart has been an Accredited and now Advanced member of the UK PGA since 2007 & achieved the UK PGA Director of Golf qualification in 2022, he also served on the North East/North West of England PGA committee and Captained the PGA section from 2020-2022.
Job Titles:
- Membership Sales Director
Terry Nelson is a sales professional with 24 years of experience in the golf and private club industry. He has a successful track record of getting results in his past roles working for three of the largest Golf Management Companies in the world. He has also been successful at leading and supporting sales teams to reach and exceed their goals while serving as a coach and mentor. Terry started his career with American Golf Corporation right after graduate school. Starting as a Group Sales Manager he worked his way up to a Regional Sales Director over his 10 years there. He moved on to Sequoia Golf in 2006 and helped to lead the membership and group sales areas to great success and was an integral part of the companies growth from 7 golf courses to over 50 from 2006 to 2014. When Sequoia was purchased by Invited in 2014 Terry stayed on and served in leadership roles with Invited. Terry attributes his past success to many factors and personal strengths he possesses.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
Tom Bennison has served as our Chief Development Officer since 2018. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Business Development and in various other roles primarily in new business acquisitions and development throughout his 25+ years at Invited. He has more than 30 years of experience in the club business. His education includes a degree in liberal arts & sciences and additional studies in economics and finance.
Please welcome Tom Juarez, our new Retail Director here at the Clubs of Kingwood! Tom was born and raised in the Houston area and moved back three years ago to be closer to his family. He comes to us with over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry. Tom was with Barneys New York in Beverly Hills as the Women's Manager for many years. After leaving Barneys, he was persuaded by the founders of Juicy Couture to join the team as the Director of Visual Merchandising for the U.S, Europe, and Asia. After Juicy Couture was sold he went on to work with other brands such as Tory Burch, Kelley Wearstler, Vince, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Wisteria as Global Director Visual Merchandising. Please stop by the shop and introduce yourself to him!
Virginia started working at the Club in 1985. She started working as a server, then moved up to Bar Manager, Member Relations, Special Events, Main Dining and Tavern 91 Manager. She also started the Kid's Night Out program 25 years ago. Virginia's passion is helping people and making them feel at the Club. She enjoys baking for the employee Team. She has one son, who grew up in Kingwood. The Clubs of Kingwood Members are her family, and she loves serving them. Virginia has been at the Club for 37 years. She never meets a stranger at the Club. She is a happy familiar face to all the Members. Her hard work and dedication are what make the Club your Home Away From Home.
Vladimir Anokhin joined the Invited team in September 2021. Prior to that, he served as a Chief of Staff and Head of Product Development for Diamond Resorts, a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management. Prior to that, he served in progressively expanding Investment Banking Coverage roles in Real Estate, Lodging and Leisure group at Credit Suisse across Moscow, London and New York offices. Mr. Anokhin holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School of New York, New York.