Name: Malcolm Booth
Position: R&A Dir of Sales & Marketing
Where I call home: St. Andrews
Focusing on right now: We're very keen to ensure we've got the best possible relationship with our fans. We've launched a new membership program this week called "The One Club," which is about allowing fans all over the world to get as close as possible to The Open.
Best advice: Never assume. Also, as is the case with most businesses, to truly travel the furthest and get the most success, you always need to be rowing the boat and going in one direction at the same time. It's something we work hard at.
Execs I admire: Augusta National Exec Dir WILL JONES would probably be up there in terms of the most switched-on, smartest executives I know in the golf business. He's a very nice guy and somebody who's easy to approach. This year, we've worked in partnership with a number of premiership football clubs over here, and BILLY HOGAN at Liverpool has been a great partner and helped us do some fairly innovative things.
Must have for a new hire: I'm always looking for somebody who is straightforward. Someone who is prepared to give a straightforward answer to a straightforward question. In times of pressure you can rely on them to be a trusted colleague.
Talking tech: We're one of the more traditional events in sport, so we try to combine innovation and technology with tradition, and get the balance just right. We introduced Wi-Fi in '13 for spectators, and we've built from that. We have an on-site event app and we promote livestreaming in our grandstands so patrons can watch live video or highlights.
Best book I've read: "Winners" by ALASTAIR CAMPBELL, and then another book called "Legacy," by JAMES KERR, which is about the New Zealand rugby All Blacks. They're kind of similar books, they talk about how you build success in sport, but also in life. Full of some very interesting anecdotes and guiding principles.
Must-have music: The band of my youth was definitely the STONE ROSES, a band from Manchester in England. More recently, SIGUR ROS, a band from Iceland. Probably the last concert I was at was ED SHEERAN in Glasgow.
First thing in the morning: Definitely coffee, before almost anything else, usually because I've been woken up by the kids -- we've got a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old. So it's a combination of kids and coffee, and then emails and schedule for the day.
Food for thought: This week it tends to be room service at about 11:00pm, but outside of this week, I'd eat sushi every day if I could. I love Thai food, I love Italian. Japanese food generally would be one of my favorites.
How I unwind: The old saying is that if you want to play golf, don't work in the golf industry. There's definitely some truth to that. I love playing golf and certainly do that from time to time -- I live in St. Andrews, so there aren't many better places to live if you want to play on a regular basis. I play a lot of football, I do a fair bit of cycling and a bit of running. I like to be active.
Day in the life: Things get a lot simpler once the balls are in the air come Thursday morning. Typically the golf takes center stage once play is underway and we can focus on a number of our business priorities. We'll spend a lot of time making sure that all is well with all of our partners around the event. It's a lot of time with clients and making sure things are going over well.
