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About Gil Penalosa
Guillermo (Gil) Penalosa,
MBA, will be a featured speaker at the National
Trails Symposium.
PROFILE
Guillermo (Gil) Penalosa is a senior executive with an M.B.A. from
UCLA and 22 years of managerial experience in the public and private
sectors. Global thinker and marketing strategist with various experiences
in Canada and Latin America, in fields such as sports, recreation, events,
parks, strategic planning, and international business. Proven effectiveness
in achieving results through an enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit,
marketing savvy and customer service. Passionate about Sports, Recreation,
Physical Activity, Parks and Trails, because of their contribution to
improve the quality of life for everyone. Leads by example; possess
superior communication, strong managerial skills and team building ability
to generate great results.
CAREER HISTORY
CITY OF MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada
Planning Advisor, Community Services (December 2002 &endash; present)
- Currently leading Placemaking, creating Great Public Places at
the City Centre.
- Currently working on multi-departmental Strategic Initiatives:
City for the 21st Century.
- Manager of the Recreation and Parks 30 year Master Plan (2003-2004).
- Manager of the Outdoor Recreation Facility Study (2003-2004).
WALK & BIKE FOR LIFE, Oakville, Ontario, Canada - www.walkandbikeforlife.com
President (2005 - present)
Created this not-for-profit organisation to promote Walking and Cycling
as activities and Parks and Trails as facilities. Its objectives evolve
from the strong linkage between Walking and Cycling to Health, Recreation,
Transportation, Environment, Economic Dev.
- Has done presentations in multiple countries such as Denmark,
Poland, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, and various cities in the US and
Canada.
- Elaborates and distributes e-letter every 3 weeks sent to city
leaders and enthusiasts on sports, recreation, parks, trails and
physical activity.
PROEXPORT, Toronto, Canada. Trade Commissioner for Canada (1999 - 2002)
Reported to the Minister of International Trade and to the President
of Proexport. Responsible for promoting exports to Canada, achieving
20%+ sales increases per year.
- Led several new business development initiatives that are now
generating between one and fifteen million dollars in exports each,
in various sectors.
- Organised seminars in all major cities of Canada and Colombia,
and delivered presentations at each promoting the benefits of bilateral
trade.
- Analysed economical, marketing, political, technological, cultural
and financial factors of global projects in order to identify and
facilitate trade opportunities.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF BOGOTA (CCB)
Consultant to the President on Parks, Sports and Recreation (1997 -
1999)
Reported to the President of the Chamber. Worked closely with the Board
of Directors. Represented the CCB at the newly created Parks Committee,
where I was the Chair; this committee was responsible for the implementation
plan of a $250 million parks project.
- Formulated the City's Master Plan, integrating parks for all needs,
from metropolitan to neighbourhood and from passive to sports oriented.
Prioritised needs of residents.
- Co-ordinated the integration of parks, sports and recreation
projects at the various government levels, municipal and national,
as well as with the private enterprise.
- Organised the first international seminar on parks, with the participation
of nine leading speakers from North America and Europe and an attendance
of 1,100 people.
- Developed strategies that generated new resources from sponsors
and partnerships.
"PENALOSA FOR MAYOR" - (brother).
General Manager (1997) - South America
Involved in all strategic process of the successful "Penalosa for Mayor"
campaign
- Recruited and assigned tasks to hundreds of volunteers, whose
unpaid and efficient work was crucial in meeting the goals on time
and on budget.
- Co-ordinated working groups on studying specific issues that produced
specific recommendations in the areas of recreation, transportation
and city budget.
- Designed marketing and communications research and strategy.
MAYOR / CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
Commissioner of Sports, Recreation and Parks (1995 &endash; 1997).
South America
Reported to the Mayor of Bogotá (pop. 7 million). Worked closely
with the Mayor and other members of Cabinet, especially with colleagues
from Finance and Urban Planning.
- Transformed corporate culture from a bureaucratic orientation
to a service focus, through an internal educational process and
implementing indicators for all the activities.
- Selected as "Best City Senior Manager" in 1996 by the most prestigious
newspaper.
- Created many recreational events, from small neighbourhood activities
to major events such as the Summer Festival with over 100 activities
and attendance of 3 million people.
- Consolidated the most important urban park in the country, Simon
Bolivar. Re-designed the Master Plan for its 360 hectares, renovated
the 30% that was operating and constructed the central park area
of 113 hectares which now has over 6 million visitors per year.
- Built 3 metropolitan parks, 15 zone parks, 180 neighbourhood parks,
and designed approximately 50 zone and 600 neighbourhood parks.
- Board member of the World Cycling and World In-line Skating Championships.
- Constructed the best sports training facility in the country,
including track and field, in-line skating and cycling stadiums,
as well as many indoor facilities for specific sports.
PUNCH TELEVISION S.A.
President (1985 - 1992) South America
- Presided over an "event enterprise" that produced and/or broadcasted
concerts, theatre shows, contests, sport events such as Tour de
France and World Soccer Cup.
- Spearheaded a recovery of the oldest television production and
broadcasting company.
EDUCATION
- M.B.A. University of California at Los Angeles, U.S.A.
- B.A. (Administration) Colegio Estudios Superiores de Administracion,
Colombia.
- Political Science (2 years) at University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, U.S.A.
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
- Speaker: Has spoken at multiple events. Recent ones include: Keynote
speaker at International Sport and Culture Association's World Congress,
Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Toronto's Communication and Aging
Symposium; International Forum on Recreation and Sport, Bogotá,
Colombia; seven presentations in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Parks,
Recreation and Quality of Life; Cycle Ontario Symposium; TAFISA's
World Congress, Warsaw, Poland, on Parks, Public Spaces and Urban
Life; various presentations on Placemaking in Mississauga and Cambridge,
Ontario; various presentations in Ontario on Walking & Cycling:
Beyond Fun and Games; Gathering of Greenways Leadership, Detroit,
USA; Great Public Places/Great Public Health, Rotary Clubs Mississauga;
Placemaking for Parks, Parks and Recreation Ontario, Niagara. World-Class
Park System and also Parks that Work, both in Atlanta, USA; moderated
session on Greenways at NRPA's Urban Parks Summit, Chicago, May,
2006. Invited by American Trails Association to be the closing Keynote
at their 2006 International Symposium.
- Participant: Attended multiple seminars on Sports, Parks, Culture,
Recreation and Urban Development, in North and South America, Europe
and Japan.
OTHER ACTIVITIES - AWARDS
- Awards: Ontario Trails Council, 2006 Trail Builder Award; City
of Mississauga's Corporate Award for Excellence, the Kirk French
Spirit Award, 2005; Colombia's Ministry of Education and Sport,
medal of High Honour, for Innovation, Leadership and Development
in area of Sports, Recreation and Parks. Association of National
Media, medal of Excellence, for Enterprising Television Production
and Broadcasting.
- Advisory Committees/Associations: Past Chair of Oakville's Parks
and Recreation Advisory Committee and past member of the Environmental
Strategic Plan Task Force. Appointed by the Halton Region's Council
to their new Cycling Committee. Member of Ontario and Canada's Parks
and Recreation associations; member City Parks Alliance.
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 Where to find
it:
Won by Joe Walker, from Denton, Texas:
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