...........has done pretty well for himself, maybe the two teams should link up !!!!


From t'Interweb ....




Sitting in an understated meeting room in the Hotel at Chelsea, Paul Mulcahy reflects on an impressive end of season performance.

'From the position we were in, to get to seventh, and gain entry to the Intertoto Cup, was a great performance by Glenn Roeder,' says the Newcastle fan and managing director, hotel and stadium, at Chelsea Football Club, tongue slightly in cheek.

Hartlepool-born Mulcahy may be a Magpies fan, but his devotion for the past two years has been to West London's Premiership champions, and particularly towards building awareness of Chelsea's hospitality offering.

Starting on the same day as coach Jose Mourinho, two years ago, Mulcahy has refocused Chelsea from a venue that catered largely for fans paying homage at Stamford Bridge, to a business-focused facility that is now a strong draw in its own right.

'You don't have many venues in West London with such a choice of meeting space,' he says. 'And to be frank, a three-day conference is more valuable to us than leisure business because delegates use more of the facilities.'

Corporate clients have included Tube Lines, Microsoft, Samsung and Sky, and the venue is also host to most of Chelsea's press conferences, including the recent unveiling of midfielder Michael Ballack. 'It's seen as an attractive and funky venue that offers something out of the ordinary,' says Mulcahy.

Besides raising awareness, Mulcahy has been instrumental in improving facilities in line with corporate expectations. A pounds 3.5m investment on the East Stand was completed last year, providing 17 rooms for banqueting and conferences. He was also responsible for bringing in caterer FMC to handle match-day hospitality requirements, and like all good managers he's not resting on his laurels.

Sporting a Mourinho-esque French crop and football cufflinks, Mulcahy outlines his latest partnership with Millennium & Copthorne. The hotel chain has been brought in to manage the two Chelsea hotels, which will be rebranded as the Copthorne Hotel at Chelsea Football Club and the Millennium Hotel at Chelsea Football Club.

'It's another deal that strengthens our hand,' he says. 'FMC handles catering at Wimbledon and the Brit Oval and is expert in areas we needed to address such as staff recruitment and food quality. It has been very successful and the Millennium & Copthorne relationship is the next step.'

Millennium & Copthorne will operate Chelsea's 275-room hotels, handle non-stadium F&B operations and the meetings facilities. It is part of a longer term restructuring of Chelsea, which has seen the club focus on football and bring in experts to assist with other aspects of the business.

The onus now is on promoting Chelsea to the top league of London venues, and success on the pitch has helped, admits Mulcahy. 'When it comes to choosing venues, the fact that we are doing well has brought us to the forefront of people's minds, but the facilities are what make people book.'

With a background in managing multiple hotels for Britannia and Radisson Edwardian, Mulcahy admits to concerns about managing a single property when the role came up two years ago.

'I came from a job where I had 25 hotels to just one here, but ultimately the roles are about building revenue, whether you are doing that with 25 units or one.'

Despite the Abramovich millions, he is expected to turn a profit, and he has - profits are up by pounds 5m over the past three years.

Ultimately, the job was an opportunity he couldn't turn down. 'Who would not come and work at a place like this?' he says. 'You don't get many positions where you can work for the most recognised CEO and one of the most successful managers there has ever been in football.'

And this time, he doesn't mean Glenn Roeder.

MULCAHY ON ...

Chelsea's heritage ...

'This is the club's centenary, and it was great to win the league this year. We do a lot of work with Chelsea legends. Peter Osgood used to be around a lot, and we recently had Peter Bonetti in goal on the pitch for some clients.'

Success ...

'Peter Kenyon says that success on the pitch breeds success off the pitch and it is important for us to recognise that we are all providing a service to whoever comes to the venue.'

The World Cup ...

'It's very exciting for us as we have four of our players going to Germany, but it's a great business opportunity. We will be holding events here, so I'll be busy, but I might be able to catch a few of the games.'

Running a sports venue ...

'The challenge is how to you go from catering for 42,000 people one day, providing everything from hot dogs to fillet steak, to running a hotel with a big back garden the rest of the time.'



CAREER PROFILE
2004-present: Managing director, hotel and stadium, Chelsea Football
Club
2002-2004: National director of sales, Britannia Hotels
1999-2002: Director of sales for UK and Ireland, Radisson Edwardian
Hotels
1994-1999: Vice-president of Ramada Franchise Canada
1991-1994: General manager, Park Lane Hotel, Ottawa

Hartlepool born magpies fan eh....?

Yeah, but he earns more than you, so I doubt he cares.