Senior Management Team
Ed Shanaphy, Partner
The range of business experience Ed has runs the gamut from heading up an international advertising and marketing conglomerate in the United Kingdom, to forming a sports marketing company here in the United States. A graduate of Duke University and after gaining his M.A. at The London School of Economics, Ed was a principal and served as managing director for fourteen years of Haysbridge UK Ltd., a $20 million direct marketing and e-commerce company with headquarters in London, and offices in Ireland and Australia. In 2008 having returned to the USA, he then founded SBW Associates, Inc., a multi-faceted enterprise with offices in Florida and Massachusetts, SBW Associates, Inc is the parent company of BeyondTheBaselines.com, a consultancy aimed at country club management.
Ed served as Head Tennis Professional and Adult Director of Tennis at the Edgartown Yacht Club on Martha’s Vineyard, having held the same position at Quail Valley Golf and River Club in Vero Beach, Florida. For five winter seasons he served as Senior Instructor at the famed Jupiter Island Club in Hobe Sound, FL. Most recently, through Beyond The Baselines, he contractually directed and supervised all the tennis and fitness activities at the Ocean Trail residential community in Jupiter, Florida and managed and directed East Chop Tennis Club on Martha’s Vineyard to a new program and director. He presently oversees all tennis and club programming at Sippican Tennis Club in Marion, MA as Director of Tennis and Assistant Club Manager.
Earlier in his professional tennis career, Ed instructed at best-in-class institutions Greenwich Country Club and Round Hill Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Through social media, advertising, marketing, and networking, he has built a niche in the tennis, fitness and leisure industries in the USA and beyond, and looks forward to bringing his expertise to this sector of the sports, leisure and country club industry in the future.
Sophie Bentham-Wood, Partner
Sophie brings her international sports marketing and public relations experience to Beyond The Baselines. A native of London and having lived in Hong Kong for many years, Sophie’s background in international public relations is second to none. She served as Account Director for the acclaimed Hill & Knowlton Group in their London office, specializing in sports marketing. Having worked closely with Roger Federer, Thierry Henry, Tiger Woods and David Beckham while running the Gillette account, Sophie has experience in crisis management and relations as well as sports public relations.
Sophie’s experience in marketing and public relations is truly international, having headed up the marketing, programming and advertising for BMW/Oracle Sailing at the America’s Cup in Spain. Her experience also includes working within the fast-moving consumer goods industry, where she headed the Proctor & Gamble international account while at Grey Global Advertising Group.
Britney Sanders LaDow, Vice President
Britney Sanders LaDow is a leader in our industry, ever since she started teaching during high school. Britney comes from Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club in New Jersey where she had served as Director of Racquet Operations and Communications. Britney’s wealth of experience and her work has seen her traverse the country at some of the most prestigious private members clubs in the nations at some of the most remote and elite destinations. Britney served as the Ladies Interclub Director at the Chevy Chase Club in Maryland. Britney has also worked seasonally at Prouts Neck Country Club in Maine, Colonial Country Club in Naples, Florida and Jupiter Island Club in Florida. Her stints in New England have also included the famed Westmoor Club in Nantucket. Britney played her collegiate tennis at the University of Notre Dame where she held the number one spot in both singles and doubles and was named The Big East Player of the Year in 2013.
Club Management and Hospitality Team Members
Harry Gilbert, Management Consultant
Harry Gilbert brings 40 years of expertise in the private club, resort, and tennis industry. His philosophy of “a complete commitment to customer service” is the guiding principle behind all his work in the tennis and hospitality arenas. Harry has extensive experience delivering memorable experiences to members and guests at the private clubs and resorts that he has directed. He serves as Director of Tennis at Waccabuc Country Club, a member owned country club in Westchester County, NY. where he is completing his 23rd season. Responsible for all aspects of the tennis program, Harry continues to offer innovative programming for members of all ages and is responsible for the “service first’ culture which permeates every aspect of the program. Harry also served as Director of Tennis at Plantation Bay, a country club community in central Florida with 10 clay courts and 45 holes of golf. At Plantation Bay he helped design the facility and was responsible for all facets of tennis programming. On the resorts side, Harry designed the facility and implemented the tennis programming at Hammock Beach Resort a 4 Diamond oceanfront resort in Palm Coast, Fl.
Most recently he served as Executive Director of Tennis at Albany, a luxury community and resort on New Providence in the Bahamas. There he managed all of the tennis programming at Albany which is considered one of the most exclusive resorts in the Caribbean. Harry is a certified USPTA Elite Professional and PTR Professional and served on the USPTA Florida Board of Directors for 12 years including a three-year term as President of the Division. He has twice been named Fkorida Division “Pro of the Year”. His service to the USPTA continued as he then served for 14 years on the USPTA National Board of Directors including a 2-year term as National President. Harry has also been very active with the USTA serving on committees at the National and Sectional level.
Still active on the court, Harry continues to offer lessons and clinics to students of all levels and abilities. In addition to teaching at the facilities he has directed, Harry has offered lessons and specialty camps at clubs and resorts across the US and the Caribbean. Harry was one of 15 professionals chosen to do on court clinics during the US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He has also done instruction for various corporate groups including Reebok, Rolling Stone magazine, and Merrill Lynch. Harry was named “One of Americas Top Teachers” by Tennis Magazine in their July 1993 issue.
Jennifer Gelhaus, Management Consultant
Jennifer has been in the tennis industry for close to 15 years as a professional at some of the best clubs in the country and coaching college tennis. She has taught at platinum clubs, corporate clubs, public facilities and academies which have all provided her a well-rounded view and understanding of various member-owned, corporate-owned, and public facilities. Jennifer has extensive experience working with all ages and levels from beginner to college level. She is passionate about bringing new technology to country clubs in an effort to optimize operations and offering superb programming that will continue to grow the sport of tennis.
Jennifer serves presently as a seasonal director of racquets at the famed Oyster Harbors Club, an elite private members club on Cape Cod. She spends her winters in Tampa, assisting us with management of our stable of clubs and creating her celebrated podcast, Vida Tennis.
Jennifer served as the Director of Junior Tennis at the prestigious Maidstone Club in East Hampton for 7 years prior to becoming the director at the famed Massachusetts club, East Chop. Some of her most recent positions at other clubs include; Assistant Director and Director of Junior Tennis at the Boulevard Tennis Club in Vero Beach, Tennis Professional at Tampa, Florida’s Harbour Island Athletic Club. She was the Head Tennis Coach at Hillsborough Community College (Tampa) and was awarded the Regional Coach of the Year by the NCAA.
Originally from Venezuela, Jennifer played college tennis at Lincoln Memorial University, where she graduated with a degree in Biology. She is certified by the USPTA and was selected as a Top 50 Tennis Coach in the US by the Tennis Channel in 2021.
Carri Warrick Young, Interim General Manager and Associate Consultant
Carri comes to Beyond The Baselines from an athletic background. As a Division I college athlete in volleyball, Carri has carried her athleticism over to fitness and tennis recreationally. She has been a leading personal trainer and group fitness instructor throughout her business career. As a businesswoman, Carri established and served as President of her own storage and transport business in Northern Florida before serving as office manager for a leading law firm in Indian River and Brevard Counties in Florida. She later served as the legal secretary and office manager for a leading property title company in Vero Beach, Florida. More recently, Carri joined the team at The Boulevard Tennis Club as Front Desk and Assistant Manager. Carri brings with her experience at some of the leading private-members clubs in Florida, including the famed Windsor Club and Quail Valley Golf and River Club, at which she is a member and can be found on the tennis courts.
Our Executive Search Team Members
Renee McCarthy, HR Consultant and Executive Search Consultant
Renee has worked on executive search and and human resources with Beyond The Baselines for over 10 years. At Suntree Country Club in Brevard County, Florida, Renee has served as Director of HR for over a 15 years manages a staff of over 100 workers, running the gamut from golf course maintenance workers through to food and beverage servers to professional golf and tennis instructors. Well-versed compensation packages, health care coverage, and workers compensation for the club industry, Renee is an expert in regard to compensation and club benefit packages nationwide. Renee heads up our executive search team. She is a leading proponent of communication with employees and works hard, proactively rather than reactively, with our clients to prevent legal action in regards to employment issues through compliance.
Christine Foltz, USTA and PGA Liaison and Executive Search Consultant
Christine brings not only experience within the tennis industry to Beyond The Baselines, but also her many years spent within the fitness and leisure industries. With a B.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University, Christine took to the road in our industry and has worked with not only with the USTA, but has created several of her own companies to fill voids she saw in the tennis and fitness spheres. At the USTA, Christine traveled the country organizing and planning modified tennis events to increase participation on the courts nationally. She has worked closely with the USPTA as well as a presenter at state and national level conferences. Christine, having focused on club’s ageing demographic across the nation, has helped facilities create ways to navigate around dropping tennis and fitness usage due to physical abilities and, using modified resources and marketing techniques, helped build both tennis and fitness usage across numerous states at hundreds of facilities.
Jitka Gavdunova, International Executive Search Consultant and Mentor
As one of only a handful of female Directors of Tennis in the USA, Jitka has not only management experience in the tennis and club industry in the United States as a former Director of Tennis at such elite clubs as Maine’s Castine Golf Club and High Performance Professional and Tennis Coordinator at the famed Kingsbury Club in Medfield, MA., but also tennis experience in the international arena as a player and coach. In our male-dominated industry, Jitka comes to our consulting business with a fresh, feminine and in-depth knowledge base as she heads up our European division from her native Czech Republic. While she will be an invaluable asset to us in attracting and finding new business as well as sourcing private club industry candidates abroad, she also provides an inestimable value to our current client base. Her American university playing experience in combination with her well-earned marketing degree is a rare find in our industry. As a marketing graduate, she enters our consultancy with a background that enables us as a firm to better market services, demonstrate innovative programming, and improve communication both nationally, and internationally.
John Flaherty, On-Site Executive Search Consultant
John has been a Marketing professional for over 25 years having led marketing efforts with established brands such as Rolex and S&P 500 company Gartner. He holds a B.A. from Old Dominion University, where he competed on the men’s Division I varsity tennis team for three years, and Masters of Science from Sacred Heart University, where he currently volunteers as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s Division I varsity tennis teams. John began playing tennis at the age of three years old, competed in regional, national, and professional level tennis events. He received ATP points in doubles and singles while competing on tour for four years after college. John is an active member at many elite clubs and adds to our company through his membership roles. He competes in USTA League play year-round and captains a USTA 40&Over 4.5+ team in the Westchester, NY division. His passion for the game has never relinquished as John has penned articles for Inside Tennis and TennisMatch Magazine, and served as an official racquet reviewer for Tennis Magazine.
Administrative Team Members
Lynne Darlington, Business Manager, Marketing & Advertising Consultant
Lynne Darlington joined the team in January, 2022 just after her move from the New York area closer to our offices in Vero Beach, Florida. Lynne, with an extensive background both with working with and as a member of private clubs both in New York and Florida, brings with her experience unrivalled in the marketing, management and insurance/liability fields. Experience with both a large New York marketing firm and a part of a Westchester County, NY law firm, Lynne has Gaining her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and her M.B.A in International Marketing from the Erivan K Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University, Lynne brings a wide array of powerful business tools to both our domestic and international clients.
Monika Molnarova, Communications and Social Media Curator
Monika comes to us from an international marketing and management career, having been at the birth of SBW Associates, the international conglomerate and holding company of BeyondTheBaselines.com when it was first formed in Queen Anne’s Gate, London, England. Having worked as a media buyer and customer relations manager for Haysbridge (UK) Ltd for seven years, Monika then moved on to form her own international conglomerate focused around latin dance and active wear clothing. In October 2021, Monika returned to work for BeyondTheBaselines.com as the head of social media and pay-per-click advertising curating all of BTB’s social media postings and outgoing newsletters and communications. Born in the Czech Republic, Monika now resides in London and brings major international advertising experience to Beyond The Baselines. Her own international business has been featured on the BBC, Discovery Channel, ITV and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Hannah Thompson, Contributor and Associate
Hannah has been a part of the private members club and resort industries for over 10 years. A graduate of Gainsville, Georgia’s Brenau University where she was a two-sport athlete in tennis and soccer, Hannah served as a marketing executive to an international conglomerate before turning to her love tennis and that industry after three years behind the desk.
A nine-year veteran of Cliff Drysdale Tennis and now a both a director and sales manager for that esteemed management firm, Hannah comes to Beyond The Baselines with a wealth of knowledge both on and off court, and both behind and in front of house.
Brendan Wilson, Company Accountant
Brendan served at CBS Television and Priceline.com as an analyst after gaining his B.A. at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He then served as national accounts auditor for 12 years at PepsiCo, in Somers NY. At this position he supervised national sales teams working with fountain beverage customers such as Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. In the leisure and club industry, Brendan served at Quail Valley Golf and River Club in Vero Beach, FL for five years before joining the Environmental Learning Center as their in-house accountant. Brendan is a Quickbooks and accounting software specialist and, besides setting up our holding company’s accounting protocols back in 2008, alsoworks with clubs to update Point of Sale systems and accounts receivable and accounts payable protocols along with membership payment regulations.