Dear Reader,
Jonathan Doughty is a remarkable person. He is enthusiastic, infectiously polite, humorous, empathic, committed, goal oriented, curious, and very likeable. Actually, these would be enough attributes to describe any person benevolently.
When it comes to Jonathan, however, they are not enough. Not only does he have a very engaging personality, he is also innovative, visionary, inventive, and successful. And Jonathan Doughty is one more thing: He is the first “Man of the Year” of the European real estate industry. He is the winner of this title that ACROSS will award annually from now on.
A few weeks ago, when we asked our ACROSS Advisory Board, which consists of many international top experts of the shopping center industry, for its nominations for “Person of the Year 2017” it became clear very early on, after the first detailed phone conversations and e-mails, that Jonathan Doughty would be among the top contenders on this list of outstanding people. This first impression remained true. Only very few people embodied our industry’s innovative spirit as impressively as this British man. Jonathan, the undisputed international top-expert for foodservice, left his distinctive mark on the entire industry with his ideas and projects.
For years, he has been preaching the increasingly important role and enormous significance of gastronomy in the shopping center industry tirelessly and with resounding success. When Jonathan talks about foodservice in general and gastronomic trends, foodcourts, culinary worlds of experience or the industry’s future in particular, his enthusiasm is infectious. That he started collecting glasses in a British pub as a young boy before becoming a chef and then manager, makes him more authentic. He himself considers his appointment as Global Head of Foodservice at ECE the highlight of his career, which happened fittingly in 2017.
Jonathan, I congratulate you sincerely on becoming “Man of the Year 2017” and I am looking forward to having many further infectious, enlightening, and motivating discussions and talks with you. Jonathan, I am glad it’s you.
Reinhard Winiwarter, Publisher of ACROSS Magazine
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