Private Retreats CEO and President Awarded Ernst & Young's 2003 Entrepreneur of the Year For The Rocky Mountain Region

Date: June 19, 2003

Private Retreats, the worldʼs first and foremost Destination Club, offering its Members unlimited use of a collection of residences, hotel suites, yachts, executive aircraft, experiences and services, today announced that the Companyʼs CEO and President, Rob McGrath was named Ernst & Youngʼs 2003 Rocky Mountain Region Entrepreneur of the Year(R) in the Real Estate category.

Ernst & Young is a global leader in professional services, devoted to restoring the publicʼs trust in professional services firms and the value of financial reporting. The award acknowledges entrepreneurs who are responsible for the recent performance of a company that has created new technologies, improved upon the pace of established systems or enhanced the quality of life for people around them. Previous Entrepreneur of the Year award winners include a virtual “Whoʼs Who” of business leaders, including Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation, Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm Incorporated, Steve Case of America Online, Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee, and Scott Kriens of Juniper Networks.

“I am honored to be the recipient of this yearʼs award, and very grateful to everyone who has contributed to the success of Private Retreats. This award represents a motivating factor to meet the challenges of our future endeavors. I sincerely appreciate this recognition. Thank you all again.” Said Rob McGrath, President & CEO of Private Retreats.

Rob received his B.A. with honors from Dartmouth College, he earned his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth, where he graduated as one of 10 Tuck Scholars. After completing a year of research on resort real estate buying patterns, Rob found that fewer than 3% of people who seriously consider the purchase of a vacation home actually do so. His research showed that, while high purchase prices, taxes, maintenance fees, insurance and potential lack of use were concerns for consumers, the primary reason for not buying a vacation home was to avoid “feeling tied-down” to a single resort. In 1999, after developing a proprietary model based on the private country club, fractional jet, and resort real estate models, Rob founded Private Retreats.

Private Retreats is an exclusive membership club offering its members a collection of homes, yachts and club memberships in 27 resort destinations around the world since 1999. These properties are held for the exclusive use of members on an unlimited basis. Headquartered in Southport, Connecticut, Private Retreats is the only multi-location, real estate resort club in the U.S.