Sir David Michels (born 1946) is a British business executive. A former Deputy Chairman of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, he is the co-owner and Chairman of Michels & Taylor, "an asset manager for 81 hotels."Alistair Osborne
Sir David Michels: 'No question executive pay has got too large. But what's enough?'
''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 February 2012

Early life

Michels was born in 1946 in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

, London, England. His father, a German Jew, escaped to England shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Damian Reece
The Interview: Poker face still smiling after 40 years surviving a busy life of leisure
''The Independent'', 27 August 2005Jamie Doward
Joker with a good hand
''The Guardian'', 1 September 2002 Settling in North London, he ran a restaurant. He was educated at Clarke’s College and Hendon Technical College. He also graduated from the London Hotel School.Strategic Hotels & Resorts: Board of Directors
/ref>

Career

Michels started his career in the hotel business by working for

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to for ...

for seventeen years.Michels & Taylor: Team
/ref> He then served as Managing Director of Hilton UK and later Executive President Worldwide Marketing for Hilton. He served as the Chief Executive of

Stakis Hotels Stakis Hotels was a hotel company in the United Kingdom led by Sir Reo Stakis, headquartered in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United ...

from 1990 to 1999. He served as the Chief Executive of the Hilton Group until 2007. He served as the Deputy Chairman of

from 2006 to February 2012. He was also the Deputy Chairman of

easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...

. He is the former President of the

British Hospitality Association The British Hospitality Association (BHA), incorporating The Restaurant Association (RA), was a non-government representative body for hotels, clubs, restaurants, leisure outlets and other hospitality-related organisations nationwide headquartere ...

. He served on the board of directors of the

Jumeirah Group Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts is an Emirati state-owned luxury hotel chain. The Jumeirah Group was created in 1997 and became part of the Dubai Holding in 2004, which is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's personal corporate portfolio. Profess ...

(now part of

Dubai Holding Dubai Holding ( ar, دبي القابضة) is Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's personal investment portfolio, which owns 99.67% of the capital. It is a global investment holding company. Mohamed al Gergawi built the portfo ...

), the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...

(now part of

FRHI Hotels & Resorts FRHI Hotels & Resorts (previously known as Fairmont Raffles Hotels International) is a global hotel management company that is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. FRHI is the parent company that manages three brands of hotels: Fairmont, Raffles ...

British Land The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

, RAB Capital, the

Arcadia Group Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BH ...

and Paramount Restaurants. He serves as the co-owner and Chairman of Michels & Taylor. He is also the Chairman of London & Capital. He serves on the Boards of Directors of

Strategic Hotels & Resorts Strategic Hotels & Resorts is an American REIT in the hospitality industry. It was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as BEE. The company owns 18 luxury hotels, 17 of which are located in the United States and one of which is in German ...

. He is also a partner of Burlywood Capital. Additionally, he is the President of the Tourism Alliance, and the Institute of Hospitality.Institute of Hospitality: An Evening with Sir David Michels FIH
/ref> A "workaholic", he works "80-hour week " He was knighted in 2006 for his work in the hospitality industry.

Philanthropy

Michels attended a fundraiser for the Anne Frank Trust UK in 2010.London diners raise £200K for the Anne Frank Trust
''The Jewish Chronicle'', February 18, 2010 In May 2012, he spoke at a fundraiser taking place at the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

which raised £50,000 for Langdon, a Jewish non-profit organisation which provides housing for the disabled.Langdon residents are good for business
''The Jewish Chronicle'', May 31, 2012 He stressed the need for the disabled to be able to work.

Personal life

He plays poker in London and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

as well as online.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michels, David Living people 1946 births People from Willesden British business executives British corporate directors English people of German-Jewish descent