PY Gerbeau

Best remembered in the UK as Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome - now the 02 Arena - PY Gerbeau's career has been as varied as the uses for the Dome itself! To date, PY’s career has included Captain of the French Olympic Ice Hockey team, Vice President of Park Operations (including the toilets!) at Disneyland Paris, and Head of a large Leisure Property group in the UK. And he’s a scratch golfer too!

PY started out in 1984 as a professional ice hockey player, becoming a member of the French national team and playing in several championships, before a severe ankle injury curtailed his sports career in 1989.He then turned to business, first with TPS Conseil, and then in 1991 he joined Euro Disney, rising rapidly to become Vice President of Park Operations and Attractions in 1997. His responsibilities included ticketing, the safety and maintenance of attractions, and sorting out the queues. He was credited with turning the attraction around after a difficult start. He later left Disney to complete a Master of Business Administration degree at Institut d'études Politiques de Paris (otherwise known as 'Sciences Po').

After successfully making Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris) Europe’s biggest visitor attraction, Disney CEO Michael Eisner recommended PY to Tony Blair for the role of Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome, a position he took up in February 2000. Almost immediately, he became a media sensation in the UK and skilfully used this publicity to make the Dome a central attraction.

Today, PY is Chief Executive of X-Leisure, the UK’s fastest growing premier leisure brand, with a portfolio of 16 entertainment and leisure destinations strategically located around the UK, making one of the largest leisure property group in the country.

PY is a veritable “guru” of the leisure/retail/entertainment industry and is regarded as one of the UK’s leading corporate speakers. His candid views and lively sense of fun make him an ideal candidate for all types of public events within the corporate sector. To book PY for your Event, as a Business Speaker or as an After-dinner Speaker, contact Prime Performers for more information, either through our online booking enquiry form or by calling us on 020 3500 3331.