Torbjörn “Toby” Johansson

Caroline Scoular takes time out to chat with CEO Torbjörn

conferences and all things CMAE.

CS: Toby, you’ve moved from being the CMAE’s Director of Education to CEO. How has this changed your role, and the direction of the association?

TJ: When I first began with the CMAE back in 2017, we didn’t have a CEO. That - usefully!means that I’ve already undertaken many CEO duties. My focus until this time has been fully focused on education.

I really like the fact that we didn’t employ a CEO at that stage, but rather a Director of Education Now, with added growth, we have more responsibility to more employees and people attached to the association, so the role of CEO was created

It made a lot of sense for me personally to want to step into the new role I could see myself in this new challenging position and with a new focus (even though I love being a facilitator on MDP weeks, which can be anywhere in the world!).

One of the big steps related to this was the launch of a new Strategic Plan which sees us an association focus on even more than our excel-

Johansson about his role,

of our delegates, members and partners

As a slight aside - but I mean it! - I’m very thankful to the CMAE Board for believing in me and the team, allowing us to grow and develop

CS: On this topic of development, have you seen the Alliance Par tnerships grow?

TJ: I am delighted that we have seen an uptake in our Alliance Partnerships with GAF Norway, HCMA Hungary and ASGM Switzerland, all becoming a part of the CMAE Family in the last couple of years

Now ,we are excited about France as well, as ADGF is back with us and we are planning MDPs hosted in French in the near future (We are already up and running with our Spanish programmes )

Besides all of this, we are seeing great developments in the Middle East and one of our key targets here is to deliver MDPs in Arabic lent Management Development Programmes [MDPs]. It is my responsibility to make sure that this all happens, in line with the wants and needs

Back to Europe, and I was in Italy on the AITG conference a few weeks ago and was delighted that they are keen for us to go back to Italy to deliver MDPs again (in English ).

The Alliance Partnership is something we value very highly. It’s all about us supporting our Alliance Partners and making them grow in Membership.

CS: So what can we expect from the 2024 European Conference?

TJ: We’re very excited about the next European Conference It’s taking place in London in 2024 where we will have a great couple of days of education and networking!

Also - and closer in the calendar - is our big news of a trip over to Washington It’s our first ever International programme The Congressional Country Club, The Cosmos Club, Chevy Chase Club and Bretton Woods are all confirmed venues for this exclusive and exciting trip in September this year.

CS: On a back-to-basics level, the Core Competencies are as fascinating as they are wide-ranging. How do the uninitiated know which MDP is right for them?

TJ: What’s really interesting is that the Core Competencies are used by Club Managers across the globe Which specific competencies prove most important will vary from club to club, but they are all used

Our MDP training programme is globally recognised (it’s also called BMI in other parts of the world) It’s amazing to think that if you start your journey in Australia, South America or South Africa, you can continue that pathway with us.

This is why we encourage people to start with any MDP of their choice, since the most important thing is that it fits into work schedules We always recom- mend, though, start with MDP 1 since it sets the base for the programme. MDP Golf or Food & Beverage or Sport & Recreation are also great programmes to start with, since they are more hands on, while 1-2-3 are more classroom based

CS: So for anyone who’d like to share the MPD Pathway concept with a colleague or Board perhaps, where should they start?

TJ: We have a full brochure on our website that can be shared as well as individual brochures for each programme (We have had over 2,500 delegates on our programmes.)

I, along with Michael McCormack, our Director of Education, are very happy to talk to anyone interested. We can do emails, zoom or phone – or a coffee for those nearby.

We’ve lso done MDP Tasters, where we do training for a day and the people can join to see and feel what we do Last time this was in Estonia together with the Estonian Golf Federation

CS: Can you explain a little more about CCM accreditation?

TJ: In order to become a CCM – Certified Club Manager – you need six years ’ experience as a manager within the industry You’ll need to go through four of our six programmes (1-2-3 and one out of Golf/F&B/S&R).

Then you’ll need a certain number of credits to be eligible to sit the CCM Exam. (This includes extra training undertaken, for example ) Once you pass the exam you become a CCM.

The CCM badge is highly valued since it is not easy to get, and once you have it, you have to renew it every five years, showing that you have undertaken training during that time

Becoming a CCM definitely opens doors across the world, and many recruitment companies value you more highly if you are on the MDP pathway It shows commitment and determination to become the best you can be within the industry Our first Diploma – CMDip – has seen over 500 people achieve the accreditation It has certainly given them excellent opportunities

CS: Are there more bite-sized online courses being planned alongside ‘in the classroom’?

TJ: We do two to three Summits every year. Next planned is the “Club Finance Summit” on May 25th which is a full day online where we bring in speakers to talk about – and discuss – the financial uncertainty we are entering into (and already are in) [Editor’s note: see page 35 for details.]We’re doing a Leadership Summit in October and we also have Colour Accounting as a workshop which we offer a couple of times every year Of all the Core Competencies, finance is usually the one where people struggle

“In addition to this, we hold a Friday Forum every other week , an hour online (for free) on various topics. It’s a great place for people to meet with us.