Craig is a surf park pioneer since he was an early investor and the original CEO of The Wave in Bristol, the world’s first inland surf park to use the Wavegarden Cove technology.
As an early seed investor and Board advisor, he initially advised the founder from concept on
- the strategy development,
- business planning,
- corporate structuring,
- land negotiation,
- wave generating technology selection
- seed funding phases,
until the project received its entitlements for construction.
He then stepped in as the CEO and personally led the corporate finance process for raising the main investment, which involved pitching to over 250 investors over a 2 year period, since this had never been done before, there was no operating surf park to show investors, who as such saw significant technology risk.
He personally negotiated the technology acquisition agreement with Wavegarden and lead the construction project to build this ground-breaking destination, managing the professional team of architects, construction project managers and engineers. There were many challenges in the construction in relation to the integration between the technology partner and the main contractor, ensuring the appropriate power and water provision and ensuring important operational elements are designed into the fabric of the building development.
The operating model had never been done before and Craig project managed the operational development plan using agile project management techniques running 9 workstreams including;
- Sales & Marketing
- Surf Operations
- Customer experience
- Retail
- Food & Beverage
- Accommodation
- Finance
- HR
- Systems
Craig led the recruitment of the operational management team bringing in some seasoned leisure operators to strengthen the depth of experience and provide the project with the best chance of success.
The whole project was delivered on time and on budget within 14 months, opening in October 2019, despite some really challenging obstacles that were overcome along the way.
Craig ran the business during its first 3 and half years of operations successfully seeing well over 500,000 visitors. He managed the business through the challenges of Covid, turned it into a profitable business employing over 300 people at its peak before selling a controlling stake to Private Equity firm Sullivan Street Partners in 2022. Craig facilitated a transition to new leadership and exited the business in January 2023.
Craig oversaw the agreement to take the Wave off-grid with a deal to build a 7 acre solar and battery array to power the waves and has since become a Board advisor of Europe’s leading renewable energy consultancy and project managers, who can support surf parks become operationally net zero, as they did with the Wave.
Craig has since taken on the CEO role for a brand new Wavegarden Cove facility that is due to open in Q4 2025 in Bahrain. This will be the first Wavegarden Cove in the Middle East bringing fantastic surfing waves to a region that has sadly missed out on the thrills of riding perfect waves to date.
Craig has led the project in partnership with Edamah, the development arm of the Bahrain government and GFH, who are key partners in the project. Bahrain Surf Park is part of a wider coastal tourism development called Bilaj Al Jazayer on the west coast of Bahrain. Craig has brought in a team to run both the construction project and the operational set up with him. He has hired the General Manager, who he is supporting in building and preparing her team through to opening, and is leading the direction of the marketing strategy with the help of a marketing associate agency to bring the project to life. He has also been key to supporting the investment process between the key stakeholders on the project.
Craig is currently advising a number of surf park projects around the world in their journey of taking their vision through to reality.
