KATHY O’Neal is senior vice president of Clubcorp, which owns and operates private country clubs and dining clubs nationwide and internationally. The company has over 150 private clubs and more than 300,000 members. Among the clubs and resorts it owns are the Firestone Country Club in Mission Hills, California, Aspen Glen in Colorado and many others.

A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, O’Neal earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas Austin, and a master’s from Southern Methodist University.

O’Neal is responsible for new, innovative concepts surrounding private club development, membership enrollment and member retention.

She is an accomplished author and speaker in the club industry, often presenting at annual conferences of the Club Managers Association of America, Private Club Marketing Association and the National Golf Course Owners Association on cutting-edge information in sales and marketing for the private club industry.

She was the first woman ever to lecture and speak to the China Club Managers in 2009. She has been invited to return to present a Private Club sales and marketing seminar in October of 2010.

Married with two college-age children, O’Neal’s two grandfathers were born in Killala, Co. Mayo and Co. Kilkenny. She has traveled to Ireland on business, and professes deep pride in her roots.

“I am blessed to be 100% Irish and have always been so proud of my Irish heritage. My cousin, Congressman James Walsh of New York, played a major role in the Irish peace initiatives under the Clinton regime,” O’Neal says.

“Typically Irish, we have large families and get together as often as possible to celebrate family and our Irish heritage.”

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