Heroes of VIP Hospitality: Roger Duthie

What was the first Live Event Hospitality programme that you attended, and what particular impressions did it make on you?

My first live sporting event was an ice hockey game in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens when I was a kid. My father managed to get suite tickets from his work and I just thought that was how people attended games normally. I was in awe of the bright lights, the sounds and the sensational food. As a wide-eyed boy to be told you can have as much popcorn and pizza as you wanted was a life-time takeaway. It took me about 25 years to get to another hospitality suite. I soon discovered that was a special day and that's not normally how people attend games.

[As familiar as the name Maple Leaf Gardens may sound to readers, the venue was closed in February 1999. On the 20th anniversary of the Gardens closing The Star newspaper looked back at an extraordinary history going back to 1931, including hosting the first ever basketball game in the league that would became the NBA.]

And what is your favourite Live Event that you would encourage everyone to book when it goes on sale, and what makes it so special?

Too many to pick just one. Locally in Dubai, The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s as well as the Dubai World Cup. Internationally I think the tennis Grand Slams are incredible events to attend as each one is different and unique. It's tough to beat New York in late August during an evening session at the US Open though. Watching Federer and Novak or anyone at night is something special.

The other event if one get can tickets is The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. From Berckmans’ Place to sitting on the 16th Green with your own chair, the Masters truly sets itself apart from many other events.

ESPN looking forward to the rescheduled Augusta Masters in November and discussing what will be different and what will be the same versus playing in the Masters’ traditional calendar slot in April.

Any event at Twickenham and Eden Park is an incredible experience as well. To see the All Blacks perform the Haka at home or England fans singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot will bring out the goosebumps for any fan, regardless of nationality. Being Canadian and a huge Formula 1 fan, the Montreal GP is one of the best races in an incredible city. The F1 Paddock Club in something everyone should book at least once in their lifetime.

This was one of the last times the Formula 1 roadshow was all together. Official VIP Hospitality with the Mercedes team as they test their 2020 cars at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in February.


Any event Emirates Airline is involved with. The company does things properly and professionally from Day One.

Dodgers’ fans are wowed by Emirates’ baseball-related safety demonstration, and then pitching skills:

Who do you consider to be your business mentor or mentors, and what particular examples did they imprint on your business values?

I have been fortunate to come into contact with so many brilliant people over my 19 years at Emirates and I have learned so much from them. Especially my own sponsorship team who were an inspiring group to work with over that last ten years.

I would say Sir Maurice Flanagan at Emirates was an inspirational leader. He was dedicated to the very end and so supportive of all our brand aspirations.

Queen Elizabeth knighted Sir Maurice Flanagan at a special investiture in November 2010 in Abu Dhabi while on a State visit to the Middle East. On Flanagan’s retirement from Emirates, the airline’s current CEO Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said, ‘when you see some good in me, you see what Maurice taught me’.



Outside of Emirates, it is probably George Mackin, who is currently the Chairman of Playsight (the leading SmartCourt sports technology platform) and who I signed a few deals with while he was CMO for the Indian Wells Tennis ATP 1000 event. George's passion and business savy is second to none. Apart from his expertise in marketing communications, amongst other areas, he is approachable and an all-around solid person. That's important. If you are successful and an asshole people may respect you but not like you. It takes a special person to be successful, respected and likeable. Rare qualities in today's world.

What was the most significant ‘Sliding Doors’ moment in your career, and how did this impact you?

After graduate school in Texas, I was deciding between a job in the Bahamas or Vancouver where I had attended the University of British Columbia. As a young man I couldn't pass up the opportunity to move to the Bahamas and live the island life for a year. Little did I know it would be five years and I would meet my wife there.

If you had the option to experience/live in one movie which would it be and why?

Moneyball. From a business point of view, what the Oakland A's accomplished during that time period was unprecendented. They basically started the whole analytical approach to sport and baseball in particular. The real life GM, Billy Beane, proved that by using analytics it was possible to build a competive team on a budget. Great story and wonderful movie. I would have loved to have been a Billy Beane player during that era..

[The 2011 film Moneyball follows the Oakland Athletics and their general manager Billy Beane as he tries to reinvent his small-payroll team using statistical modelling, called sabermetrics, that had never been used before. In this clip, Beane, played by Brad Pitt, is listening to his old-school scouts discuss their old-school selection methods, including the famous ‘ugly girlfriend’ no-no.]

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?

To be a professional hockey player or baseball player or golfer. When I soon realized that every kid's dream in Toronto was to be a professional hockey player and that there was no chance in hell that I was going to play professional baseball or golf I focused more on education to ensure I worked in Sports. I have been very fortunate over the years to see what athletes go through to get to where they are in their chosen professional. The hard work and dedication behind the scenes is inspiring.

Which experience had the biggest impact on your life and how you see the world?

Losing someone close to me from cancer at a young age made me realize in my early 20s the importance of enjoying life. It is important to work hard but equally important to ensure you have fun with everything you do. It’s also important to tell the people you love how much they mean to you. My philosophy is: Have fun. Live life. While living in the Bahamas I named a boat I had Carpe Diem (the boat eventually sank during a tropical storm, an amusing story for another time) but that’s a big life lesson for me.

I was stuck in an uprising in Abidjan, Ivory Coast with some Emirates colleagues for four days. I have never been frightened in my life before those four days. The UN came in and tried to sort the situation out but it seemed to make it worse. We were all pretty terrified. I literally paid off some guards and police to sneak us out. Carpe Diem!

Sky News reporting in 2011 on the bloody conclusion to the Ivorian crisis, triggered by disputed presidential elections in November 2010.

If your 15-year-old self could see you now, what would he think and what advice would you pass back to your younger self?

Still focus on education but go into sports marketing specifically or find a way to get a sports business degree.

Work more on your putting!

What is an indulgence you could never forgo?

A good bowl of fancy nuts at a golf course post round...weird but it's partly how I judge a golf club by the quality of their free bar snacks.

Tell us something even your colleagues might not know about you...

I am a Karaoke King but I am so bad at it.

What’s the best, most useful word from another language that you aren’t fluent in?

Arigato. It's just fun to say and most people know what it means. I am not fluent in other languages but I can say thank you in about 15-20 different languages which is very important when travelling.

What is the first sentence from the best novel yet to be written about the coronavirus?

We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.

What is/was the new technology or device that you immediately understood was going to be life-changing?

The IPAD mini. I actually don't use other Apple devices but when the IPAD first came out I was amazed at what it could do. I use it for building presentations and whilst presenting as well. I stopped travelling with my laptop once I become proficent with my IPAD. I take into meetings and take notes on it too. It's such an diverse, compact device.

What did someone do or say in a job interview that made you know you absolutely had to hire them?

Once we were interviewing a lot of candidates for a key sponsorship role. One question I always asked was, Why do you want to work for Emirates’ sponsorship department? I can’t tell you how many candidates replied, Because I love sports or because I am a big Arsenal or Real Madrid fan. That sort of response. I was so tired of hearing this. But one young man replied to my question that sports is a wonderful communications platform: we can not only reach millions of people but we can engage with them as well, and on a daily basis. This was at the time we were launching our social media channels. Clearly this young candidate understood what we were trying to achieve with our sports marketing campaigns and what sponsorship entailed. Needless to say, he got the job. Sponsorship is not about loving sport. It's about knowing sport and knowing how and what sports sponsorships can do for your brand.