SPECIAL REPORT
McBride and his business partner ,
Chris Burch , transformed Nihiwatu from a sleepy surf resort to a top-rated luxury destination .
ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION McBride is a creative force , an innovator and relationship maker whose career is marked by risks as big and bigger than the guestroom in Malaysia . From his 14-year run at Ritz-Carlton , stints leading London ’ s Grosvenor House and New York ’ s The Carlyle , to running YTL Hotel Group , he has always been entrepreneurial .
Now he is truly an entrepreneur with business partner Chris Burch in Nihiwatu , a lush resort on the Indonesian island of Sumba that is accumulating accolades not just for its lux , “ edge of wildness ” aesthetic but for supporting , via a foundation , education , health and malaria eradication for the local community , which makes up 90 % of the resort ’ s employees . They are taught English and receive job training .
Making a difference matters to him . “ Whenever you are in an exotic location , specifically where people are very poor
and you and your customers are living in the lap of luxury , if you don ’ t do something philanthropic , you have a problem . It ’ s the right thing to do .”
Burch describes his business partner as “ extraordinarily creative and incredibly detailed . It ’ s not easy leading a bunch of people who have just learned their skill base .” The attention to detail is trained on guests as well . “ I feel lucky that he can think through many layers of a customer ’ s
McBride met Burch ( r .) at The Carlyle in New York City . “ I realized he was probably one of the most extraordinary general managers in the world ,” Burch says .
J M
HIS FORMULA : “ Execution is the key to success . You can be at the right place at the right time but you have to do something about it . There ’ s a million ideas going around , but it ’ s who executes , who gets it done .”
24 hotelsmag . com November 2016