Ron van Pelt

Background

About Ron van Pelt

My family emigrated from Holland to Australia when I was a young child and then again from Australia to the US as a teenager. At University I studied in Copenhagen for a year after graduation I joined a firm in the Netherlands and for the next 3 years, worked on a major regional hospital project in North Yemen. This early exposure to a multi cultural, international lifestyle set the stage for my professional passions and pursuits. In late 1984, I joined WATG as a Senior Designer in the Newport Beach, California office. During my early years I had the benefit and privilege of working with a number of the firm's founding partners and other highly experienced senior leaders. First projects included the Ritz-Carlton Ranch Mirage, CA and the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Pasadena, CA. Plus conceptual Architectural design, master planning and urban design work for hotel and resort projects in California, Florida, the Caribbean and Spain. In 1990 I was promoted to Vice President and in 1991, along with a Senior Vice President, opened WATG's London office. The economic recession of the early 90's challenged us to expand into new markets, which resulted in diverse projects in the Middle East, India and Africa. In 1996 I returned to California and continued to work on projects around the world and the US including Taiwan, The UAE, Portugal, China and the Quarter at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino Atlantic City, New Jersey. The development boom in the Middle East provided opportunities for large scale master plans in Dubai, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, many of which we continue to work on as they evolve and are implemented. In May of 2011, I relocated to WATG's Singapore Office, where I played an important role in the talent development and professional growth of that operation. Today I remain actively involved with projects in S.E. Asia, while working on new opportunities in North America and other regions served by WATG.