Dan the man! CCM success for Fairmont Executive Assistant Manager

The CMAE is delighted to announce that Daniel Naudo, Executive Assistant Manager at Fairmont St Andrews has gained the internationally renowned Certified Club Manager (CCM) certification.

The CMAE is delighted to announce that Daniel Naudo, Executive Assistant Manager at Fairmont St Andrews has gained the internationally renowned Certified Club Manager (CCM) certification.

The CCM designation has been the hallmark of professionalism in club management since 1965 and is the cornerstone of CMAE’s education programme. It is recognised globally as a valuable and widely respected mark of a manager’s commitment to professional development and the club industry.

Dan’s success with the CCM exam raises the number of Certified Club Managers in Europe and the Middle East to 66.

Dan has been the Executive Assistant Manager at Fairmont St Andrews for the past 3 and a half years and previously spent over 9 years at London Golf Club, firstly as sales manager and then as head of operations and before that 2 year at Stoke Park as Sales Consultant.

We asked Dan a few questions about his achievement.


How did you find the exam?

Tough. I can’t believe how quickly the time went, preparing beforehand I thought I would have plenty of time but nearly ran of time in both sections. On reflection it is fantastic to see across the 10 key competencies, the diversity of our roles on paper.

What did you do to prepare yourself for it?

I went through the CCL book but would say you definitely won’t find all the answers here. I made sure I was aware of all possible business analysis tools that would assist with the case study and for the multiple choice – I studied files at work related to each of the key areas, and spent some time going through these with the relevant department heads – for me I prefer to do this and learn on the job, the information sticks better.
Would definitely advise doing the practice paper before hand – I didn’t submit mine for marking but was good essay writing practice again as it has been a few years seen I have had to do one.

Any advice for those thinking of sitting the exam soon?

Set out clear time frames for each of the sections in the Multiple choice and stick to them – also there are many questions with two probable answers and you can spend too much time deliberating these, go with your gut. In the afternoon, be organised and structured with your writing, write your conclusions first to make sure the main body of the paper doesn’t go off in a different direction.

Where were you when you found out you had passed?

I was still out work preparing for a busy night of Christmas events – was over joyed, called my wife and then my parents as they are the ones that know how much I wanted to achieve this milestone.

Congratulations again Dan, any final comments?

Just like to thank everyone at CMAE and industry colleagues who helped me along the way. I started the journey with CMAE in 2013 on my first MDP and it the best educational programme I have done to date. I can not wait to continue this journey and look forward to helping many others reach their goals.