20 Mar 2019
Irene Forte joins GWS advisory board
BY Lauren Heath-Jones
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has appointed Irene Forte to its advisory board.
Forte, who is the daughter of British hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, currently serves as the wellness director for Rocco Forte Hotels and is responsible for overseeing the company's wellness strategy and offerings across the 14 hotels in the company's portfolio.
As part of the advisory board, she will enable the GWS to target millennials, the wellness industry's 'powerhouse demographic', by offering insight into the next generation of wellness and the millennial mindset.
A successful entrepreneur in her own right, Forte has recently launched her own skincare line – Irene Forte Skincare – which has been dubbed "beauty with a conscience" and consists of handmade and sustainably-packaged products featuring organic ingredients from the Forte's organic farm in Sicily.
In 2015 she was granted government funding to develop a careers app, called Map My Career, aimed at attracting and retaining a younger, more tech-savvy workforce to the hospitality industry, and in 2016 she won the 2016 Rising Star Shine Award and an Acorn '30 under 30' award.
In addition, Forte has spoken at the GWS on two occasions, in 2016 and 2018, with her keynote, entitled: "Millenials: Spoiled for Choice and Very Stressed - How to Attract this Next Generation of Traveler" one of the most downloaded in the summit's history.
Susie Ellis, chair and CEO of GWS, said: "It's with great pleasure that I welcome Irene to our board. We're a conference devoted to the business of wellness, and she will bring invaluable expertise to help ensure that our organisation reflects the very future of this industry: millennials and even younger generations."
"With millennials representing the first 'wellness generation' - and as the age demographic that will have the highest spending power by 2025 - Irene will help us stay relevant and keep evolving toward the next generation wellness consumer," Ellis added.
Forte said: "I immediately fell in love with the spirit of the Global Wellness Summit when I attended my first almost four years ago. With its mission of industry collaboration, this international gathering has been shaping the future of the US$4.2tn (€3.7tn, £3.2tn) wellness industry for 13 years. I'm delighted to be part of such a worthy and important community and event."
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