CLIFFORD Ross’s career
spans 45 years in the South
African hotel industry. He is
recognised as one of hospitality’s
stalwart leaders; a captain of
industry.
In his 31 years at City Lodge,
Clifford has seen the company
grow from one hotel in Bryanston
to a large hotel group, boasting
over 60 hotels and operating in
six countries across Africa. He
has been instrumental in driving
this growth.
When Clifford took over as
operations director in 1991, the
group had only eight hotels in
South Africa – and Africa was only
a pipe dream.
Clifford started his career in
1974 at Holiday Inn as part
of an internship programme.
He had hoped to be a doctor
or lawyer but his parents
were unable to pay for tertiary
education. However, over the
course of his career, he has
racked up several qualifications,
including completing an advanced
management course at Cornell
University.
After completing his internship,
Clifford stayed with Holiday Inn
and was with the group when it
merged with Southern Sun and
later became Sun International.
It was while managing one
of the group’s properties in
Swaziland that he met his wife,
who was a sales executive with
the group at the time. The couple
have a son and two daughters.
Clifford is extremely proud of his
children; he jokes that they get
their brains from their mum. He
has put all his children through
university and is incredibly
pleased that he was in a position
to give them opportunities his
parents could not afford.
Clifford has also played a key
role in empowering the employees
of City Lodge, and long before
BEE legislation was put in place
to encourage transformation. In
1995, the company gave one
million shares to staff, excluding
management. Since then, the
company has continued to award
shares to staff members as its
share price has grown. “Every
staff member is a shareholder,”
he says. Clifford fondly recalls
instances of employees selling
shares to buy a car and even
a house. One staffer sold their
shares and opened a nursery
school.
The low level of unionised
staff at City Lodge is something
Clifford takes pride in. When he
started his position as operations
director, the group had its first
and only strike. “One of my very
first jobs was to negotiate wages
with the unions. At the time,
about 80% of the staff were
unionised and it was my job to
negotiate a wage agreement.”
Today, less than a fifth of the
staff are unionised. He attributes
this to the company’s salaries
and employee benefits. “Many of
the staff don’t believe they need
a union to negotiate on their
behalf,” he says, adding that he
has continued to negotiate with
unions, despite them not having
the required 50 plus 1 per cent
membership.
Today, Clifford reflects on his
career as proof that people can
enter the hotel industry and make
a career out of it. “The sky really
is the limit,” he says, although he
points out it’s hard work. “It’s not
a job; it’s a way of life,” he says.
“There’s no such thing as Fridays
to Mondays. It’s 24/7.”
What does retirement look like
for Clifford? “I am sure I will have
long lists from my wife in terms
of what I should be doing during
my retirement,” he jokes. Clifford
has a spot in the Waterberg and
also in Hermanus. He says he’ll
divide his time between the two.
He is a keen photographer and
is looking forward to picking up
this hobby again, now that he
will have the time. “I also have a
library with thousands of books
I haven’t had the time to read,”
he says. “I am going to spend my
time reading, taking photographs,
and being in the bush.”
Getting to know Clifford
Clifford hails from Orkney and
went to school at Milner High
School in Klerksdorp.
He is one of six children, who
were all born within a six year
period.
Clifford is a history buff and
enjoys travelling to historic
places.
Clifford and his wife are both
avid travellers, and while he
has been to many places, he
still has a big bucket list to
tick off during retirement.
He relishes the outdoors and
hiking. He has summited
Kilimanjaro and Everest Base
Camp.
If Clifford had the opportunity
to meet anyone, dead or alive,
he would want to meet Nelson
Mandela. “I admired him for
his clarity of belief and his
humility,” says Clifford.
Clifford reads for escapism
and likes crime novels best.
