For the first time in two decades, Kiawah Island Golf Resort is looking for a new president.

Roger Warren plans to retire at the end of 2026 after 23 years with the resort, Kiawah Island Golf Resort announced July 22. The resort has hired Spencer Stuart, an executive search and leadership advisory firm, to find his successor.

No successor had been announced as of mid-October. The July announcement is still the most recent item on the resort’s press release page.

Warren is expected to stay in the job through the end of the year to help guide the transition, ABC News 4 reported. The resort and Warren also plan to explore having him advise on select development projects and transition matters, according to the announcement.

“Roger’s leadership, vision, and dedication have left an indelible mark on Kiawah Island Golf Resort,” Chairman William H. Goodwin Jr. said in the announcement.

“Serving this organization has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,” Warren said.

From director of golf to president

Warren is an Illinois native who taught high school and coached golf for nearly a decade before moving into golf course management in his home state, GOLF.com reported in 2024.

He joined Kiawah in April 2003 as director of golf, coming from Seven Bridges Country Club near Chicago, The Post and Courier reported. At the time, he was the incoming president of the PGA of America. The resort promoted him to president in 2005, according to the newspaper.

Warren served as president of the PGA of America in 2005 and 2006 and is a member of its Hall of Fame, WCSC Live 5 reported.

His name came up for a bigger job in golf in 2024. That November, GOLF.com reported that two high-ranking PGA officials described Warren as the leading candidate to become the PGA of America’s next chief executive. The association instead named former PGA president Derek Sprague its CEO in December 2024, the PGA of America announced. Warren stayed at Kiawah.

The Ocean Course years

During Warren’s tenure, the resort’s Ocean Course hosted the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2021. The championship is scheduled to return in 2031, according to the resort. The course, designed by Pete and Alice Dye, also hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, years before Warren arrived.

“Roger Warren has been a vital part of our region’s hospitality industry for decades,” Helen Hill, president and CEO of Explore Charleston, told The Post and Courier. She credited him with “elevating the Charleston region to the global stage of golf,” the newspaper reported. Warren served on Explore Charleston’s Board of Governors and chaired it for two years, the newspaper reported.

Duane Parrish, director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, also praised Warren. “His legacy will endure through his commitment to excellence in his instrumental role in securing the 2031 PGA Championship for Kiawah Island,” Parrish said, according to The Post and Courier.

What the next president inherits

The resort sits along 10 miles of beach less than 30 miles south of Charleston, according to the resort. Its properties include The Sanctuary, a 255-room hotel and spa that holds Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond ratings, along with nearly 500 private villas and homes, five championship golf courses and the Roy Barth Tennis Center. The Sanctuary kept its Forbes rating in February, the resort announced.

The resort welcomed its first guests in 1976 and is marking its 50th anniversary this year, according to a post on its website. It said it would celebrate by unveiling the Treehouse Activity Center at Night Heron Park, which includes a nature center, an art studio, eight bowling lanes, golf simulators, an arcade and a pub. The resort’s website now lists the center as open.

The website also says the resort has renovated all five of its championship courses as part of a broader expansion across the island.

Goodwin, the resort’s chairman, is also its longtime owner, The Post and Courier reported. In 2018, Virginia Business described the resort as owned by Richmond-based Riverstone Group LLC, which also owns the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. That year, Riverstone announced a round of new projects at Kiawah scheduled to run through 2020, ahead of the 2021 PGA Championship.

“These developments mark an exciting chapter in Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s notable history,” Warren said in a statement at the time, according to Virginia Business.

The search

The resort has not said what it is looking for in a new president or when it expects to name one. Goodwin said the resort looks forward to “honoring his legacy” while it identifies the next leader, The Post and Courier reported.

“I am deeply thankful to the ownership and board of Kiawah Island Golf Resort for their trust and support,” Warren said in the announcement.

His successor will take over a resort preparing for its third PGA Championship, five years away.