Robert Ward’s thirty‐six year career has centered on the leisure time, resort destination and entertainment industries worldwide. During his twenty plus years with Universal Studios Parks & Resorts he was a key Executive of Universal’s creative think tank development team that has conceptualized, designed and implemented Universal’s global entertainment projects. In 2005, Bob established his consulting practice where his diverse global development experiences, strategic business insights and creative imagination combine to create a unique brand of world‐class “signature placemaking” for clients in the areas of large, mixed‐use, leisure and resort destination developments and urban town planning.

Mr. Ward’s career began with Walt Disney Imagineering in 1971. During the later seventies he formed a creative services consulting company to capitalize on the emerging trend of themed commercial developments.

Bob became a founding member of Universal Studios Planning and Development team in 1981 where he participated in Universal’s initial exploration of expansion opportunities and was responsible for master planning and design of new “first time anywhere” attractions for Universal Studios Hollywood. These attractions would become the foundation for a whole new, cutting edge entertainment product and business model.

Bob is acknowledged as being an instrumental leader in the creative repositioning of the Universal Studios Tour from it’s beginnings in Hollywood as a straight forward “industrial tour” into one of the recognized leaders of destination entertainment, theme parks and resorts world‐wide. He applied these new concepts as a key hands on Executive in the creation, implementation and operation of Universal Studios Florida, which opened to visitors in June 1990.

Since then he has led the conceptualization and master planning development of Universal Orlando Resort, Universal’s $3 billion premiere entertainment resort destination in Orlando, Florida. He also was a core creative participant in the creation of Universal Studios state of the art Islands of Adventure theme park, Universal’s CityWalk entertainment complexes that feature a mix of entertainment, dining and retail venues, and Universal’s destination resort hotels.

Building on the success of Universal Orlando Mr. Ward’s responsibilities focused on the strategic planning aspects of Universal’s international new business opportunities. He participated in the creation of Universal Studios Japan, Universal’s Meditteranea Resort near Barcelona, Spain, and numerous concepts for potential mixed‐use, entertainment based destination businesses in Europe, China and Southeast Asia.

Bob’s recent activities include strategic town planning for Preston, Ct. and Orlando, Fl., planning and design management of a proposed $5.5 billion dollar casino‐resort for Singapore, destination components for an eco‐based, high end resort in Cost a Rica and the formation of Caribbean Development Partners to pursue branded destination resort development throughout the Caribbean.