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| Dave Pontius – Bluegreen’s Newest Addition |
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by Sharon B. Drechsler, RRP
owner/operator
Drechsler Communications
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Many of us are acquainted with Dave Pontius. A man with an engaging demeanor and commanding height, such as Dave, has a hard time keeping a low profile. Those of us who have known him for awhile are familiar with his reputation as someone who puts people before politics and ethics before wealth on his list of values. So when news of his appointment as President of Bluegreen Resorts was announced in May, we asked him for the opportunity to conduct the exclusive interview for Resort Trades, which follows.
Q: Dave, you are quoted as saying, “I look forward to joining Bluegreen’s strong management team as we work to further strengthen and expand the business platform, elevate the brand and leverage the social, economic and demographic trends that are driving the growth of our industry.” Can you give our readers any further details about what you see as your mandate in your role as President of Bluegreen Resorts?
A: I am of the opinion, as are many others, that Bluegreen is well positioned in the industry today to go in whatever strategic direction they wish. Many other companies are very solid, very strong companies, but they have selected a direction and that’s the way they are heading. But Bluegreen is positioned to do many things. To me personally, that’s very exciting. I think their ability to pursue new markets is based in large part on having a management team that is extremely strong and diversified. Plus, they’ve got a leader in John Maloney [appointed President & CEO of Bluegreen Corporation after the first of the year when George Donovan retired] who is up for almost any challenge at this point.
Q: Having been founded in 1966 and having over 170,000 owners, Bluegreen is one of the largest developers in vacation ownership. You have worked for several large organizations in the past. How does this play into your having been selected, do you think? And how will you plan on using that experience at Bluegreen?
A: I would describe my experience in the industry as varied. I’ve been in many different roles with a number of very good companies. In the case of Bluegreen, as I’ve said, here’s a company that is poised to go in just about any direction it would like in this business. And because of my background in many of these diverse situations, whether it’s going down to a more branded path or whether it’s developing multiple projects or, as I said, there’s a myriad of directions, I see it as a wonderful fit. They have the disciplines very well covered. So if I can come in with a broader experience and hopefully, have learned a few things along the way over the years; then hopefully, I can bring to the table more of a generalist’s view of how it all has to pull together.
Q: What attracted you to work for Bluegreen?
A: Having been in the business since 1980, I’ve got a long, long history of knowing many of the people at Bluegreen. For instance, George Donovan is someone I’ve known for all my years in the business. I’ve known him since day one, since he was really one of the founders of our business. As another example, for years I was on the financing side of the business, providing financing to developers throughout the ‘80s. One of the companies Bluegreen acquired in 1997– Resort Development International (RDI) – was a company I did a lot of work for. Some of the senior leaders at Bluegreen today were people who I had come to know while they were at RDI. John Maloney and I had an opportunity to work together when we were both at Hilton. And so it goes. For another example, several years ago I was out at Vacation Internationale, which was the originator of points in the industry in North America, when Bluegreen and RDI came to call. I became acquainted with Terry Dodd, now senior vice president of club operations and product development, who heads up all the points-related activities or club activities for Bluegreen. We became good friends through talking about how they could create their club.
And so I really feel a very strong connection to the people at Bluegreen that goes way back. I think I share their desire to work very hard to create a great product that’s really good for their customer. That’s something that they emphasize that is very refreshing. We get to do all that in a fun environment. It’s a great group of people. My connections with them go way back, so this seems like a very natural progression for me.
Q: John M. Maloney, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Bluegreen, was quoted as saying, “Dave has extensive experience in sales and marketing, product development, finance, managing organizations and creating results-driven teams.” These constitute an impressive array of skills. What can you tell us about how you plan to call on your experiences as President of Bluegreen Resorts?
A: We’ve got a very results-driven group of people. I guess because of the breadth and depth of my experience in the industry, I’ll be able to work with them from the perspective of “above the treeline” so that we can look at the environment, at where we should go, at what our niches are and hopefully, save the company some time, effort and money preventing us from going down any paths that don’t make sense.
Q: Can you can share with us any information about your vision for growth. What do you think will be your biggest challenges in the days to come? What do you see as the greatest opportunities?
A: Well, I’m walking into a seasoned, strong group. We’re obviously going to continue to play to the company’s strengths. We’re not looking at making any changes right now. The company’s on a real high right now. It’s doing quite well and has a strong team. So part of my job will be to play up the strengths and help address any challenges that come along.
When you have people who are working very hard and have done so for a number of years, they may not even understand their greatest strengths. When you have someone like me – with a fresh set of eyes – coming in, I can help us identify areas where we can really take advantage of these strengths.
Also, since his appointment to COO at the end of 2005 up until now, John Maloney has been running the the resort division and managing the strategy and leadership of the corporation. I’ll be alleviating a lot of the pressure from him of bearing these dual roles. As far as the biggest challenges, my responsibility will be to jump in as quickly as possible, to lighten the load on John.
This is a pretty hard-working group of people. The organization is moving forward. Things are good. So there’s no need to turn things around. My primary objective will be to get in there and learn the company’s culture.
Q: Your duties at Bluegreen officially begin June 1, 2007. What are the first things you plan to do?
A: To me, the most important thing will be to be a really good listener. I’d like to go in and absorb and just listen to people to get to know what their day-to-day lives are like and to really understand the culture. I think I have a pretty good feel for it, but it’s still going to be an important piece of the whole task. Sometimes it’s easier to walk into a place that has problems and your objectives are very clear. In Bluegreen, I’m sure there will be important things to get involved in, but the first thing I need to do is get involved and listen and learn. I think that’s an important part of trying to be a good leader. It’s important to come in putting all preconceived ideas aside, listen and learn, and find out what is needed to make a difference.
Along with that, we’ll be doing a “road show.” That is, along with key leaders of the management team, we’ll be going out and visiting about 40 resorts. I’m looking forward to seeing the properties, meeting the people in the sales offices and other key resort personnel. That’ll be another key item to accomplish in, say, the first 90 days.
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