{"id":781859,"date":"2026-07-24T13:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/781859\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:17:25","slug":"kiawah-resorts-top-executive-is-stepping-down-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/781859\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiawah resort\u2019s top executive is stepping down this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, who was instrumental in bringing the PGA Championship<\/a> to the renowned Ocean Course three times<\/a>, is stepping down after a 23-year run.<\/p>\n

Roger Warren announced he plans to retire at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

A successor has not been named.<\/p>\n

Bill Goodwin, the resort\u2019s chairman and longtime owner, said in a statement that Warren has \u201cleft an indelible mark\u201d on the luxury seaside getaway, which includes the top-ranked 255-room Sanctuary hotel, five public golf courses, multiple food-and-beverage offerings and a world-class racquet-sports center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely grateful for his contributions and look forward to honoring his legacy while identifying the next leader to guide the resort into the future,\u201d Goodwin said.<\/p>\n

Warren, a former high school teacher and Illinois native, joined the resort as director of golf in April 2003 from Seven Bridges Country Club near Chicago. At the time, he was the incoming president of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.<\/p>\n

Two years later, he was promoted to the top role at Kiawah, calling it \u201cone of the greatest honors of my professional life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other accomplishments, Warren made his mark on the local hospitality industry by helping lure the PGA Championship to Kiawah in 2012 and again in 2021<\/a>. The global sporting spectacle, one of professional golf\u2019s four annual \u201cmajor\u201d tournaments, will return to The Ocean Course<\/a> in 2031.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply thankful to the ownership and board of Kiawah Island Golf Resort for their trust and support over the past 23 years,\u201d Warren said in a statement. \u201cAny accomplishments achieved during my tenure were only possible because of the dedication, talent, and passion of our executive committee, managers, employees, partners and stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helen Hill, president and CEO of Explore Charleston, said Warren has played an instrumental role in advancing Explore Charleston\u2019s mission by serving on its Board of Governors. He spent two years as chairman.<\/p>\n

“Roger Warren has been a vital part of our region\u2019s hospitality industry for decades,\u201d Hill said. \u201cAmong his many contributions to Kiawah and the broader community, one of the most enduring will be his legacy in elevating the Charleston region to the global stage of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resort plans \u201cto explore opportunities\u201d with Warren for \u201cadvisory support regarding select development projects and transition-related matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm, has been hired to help recruit a successor.<\/p>\n

Duane Parrish, director of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, said Warren\u2019s leadership at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort has elevated both the resort and the state\u2019s \u201creputation as a premier tourism and golf destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis legacy will endure through his commitment to excellence in his instrumental role in securing the 2031 PGA Championship for Kiawah Island,\u201d Parrish said. \u201cOn behalf of Discover South Carolina, we congratulate Roger on an outstanding career and wish him and his family all the best in retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, who was instrumental in bringing the PGA Championship to the renowned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[332902,50561,427,166826,78330,14192,332903,332901,166827,99],"class_list":["post-781859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-bill-goodwin","tag-charleston-business","tag-golf","tag-kiawah","tag-kiawah-island-golf-resort","tag-pga-championship","tag-pga-championship-kiawah","tag-roger-warren","tag-sc-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}