There has been a change of guard at the Asian Golf Industry Federation – the industry body has a new president and he is a lawyer by training.
At the last annual general meeting of AGIF in Shenzhen, China, members unanimously voted for Tim Trinka to lead the industry body for the next two years.
Upon his election, Trinka said: “I am deeply humbled and honoured to assume the role of President of the AGIF. Our mantra is ‘to grow the game, responsibly’ and all that that means”. He went on to explain, “The AGIF mandate “to grow the game, responsibly” is quite broad. Asian markets need education based on the experience gained in more mature markets on nearly everything related to golf (best practices for all core industries in the game, strategies to grow the game at all levels of participation, etc)”.
“Moreover, both Asian and Western stakeholders need research on a wide variety of topics in Asian countries. On top of those needs, there is no one industry coalition in Asia that all stakeholders can look to as the custodian of golf so that growing the game is indeed done responsibly. I believe that AGIF can and should be that custodian and in that capacity should act as a conduit for education, research and grow the game initiatives in the region”.
Trinka is engaged as the Senior Foreign Lawyer at the law firm of Bae, Kim & Lee in Seoul. Tim has worked as a foreign lawyer in Seoul for over 20 years.
Throughout his 30-year career, Trinka has been engaged in a wide variety of commercial and financial transactions in Asia, Europe and the United States. Trinka’s practice focuses on the construction, financing and development of real property in Asia, with his clients being foreign property companies, developers, construction companies, private equity investors and financial institutions.
Trinka has a particular focus on the business of golf in the Asia-Pacific region. He regularly represents designers, developers, companies involved in operations management and championship management, and product suppliers in the golf industry. He is also a keen and sometimes frustrated, golfer.
Trinka has been co-chair of the Real Estate Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea since 1995.
He was formerly Vice President and is currently a Member of the Executive Council of the United Service Organization (USO) in Korea, and was formerly Vice President and a Member of the Board of Governors of the Seoul Club.
Trinka received a business degree from The University of Iowa in 1979 and his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in 1982.
In 1983, he was awarded a Certificate in Advanced International Studies from Salzburg University, Salzburg, Austria.
The new board of directors elected at the AGM include:
1) Vice President
John Holmes
President
Atlas Turf International Limited
2) Secretary
Mark Adams
Senior Vice President / Director Golf Course Services Asia
IMG
3) Treasurer
Chris Gray
Area Manager S.E. Asia – Golf
Rain Bird International
4) Board Member
Alan Prickett
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
Jacobsen
5) Board Member
Danny Potter
Managing Director
Centaur Asia-Pacific
6) Board Member
Hiromi Yanagisawa
Managing Director / COO
Inaji Landscape & Construction Co., Ltd
7) Board Member
Michael Kahler
Managing Director, Asia / Middle East
Robert Trent Jones II
8 ) Board Member
Richard Walne
Managing Director, Asia Pacific & Australia
The Toro Company
9) Board Member
Rick Brown
Titleist Brand Manager – SE Asia, Australia & New Zealand
Acushnet Company
10) Board Member
Sowmya (Shoumo) Mitra, Ph.D
Head Technical Services – L&G, APAC
Syngenta
11) Board Member
Tammy Harney
Vice President – International Business Development
Profile Products, LLC