Advisory Council

Our newly formed Advisory Council is made up of a cross section of leading figures from across the UK events sector who bring expertise, connections and influence. They support us in raising awareness of our work, act as brand ambassadors for the industry and use their knowledge to contribute to our various discussions around the development of a long-term Policy Agenda for the UK events sector. These views and opinions are shared with both VisitBritain and DCMS to help shape and develop policies which ultimately maximise the events sectors economic potential.

The group meet quarterly to review strategic issues facing the sector and evaluate various internal and external policy initiatives.

Advisory Council Members

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP  Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet and Chair All Party Parliamentary Group for Events
Michael Gietzen   Chief Executive Officer, Identity
Shane HannamManaging Director, Montgomery Group
Michael Hirst OBEVice Chair, UK EVENTS
Ian EdwardsCEO, ICC Wales/The Celtic Collection
Kerry PrinceChief Growth Officer, RX Global
Dr James MusgraveHead, UK Centre for Events Management, Leeds Beckett University
Paul BlackHead of Business Events, VisitBritain/Meet England
Martin FergusonVice President Global Communications & Public Affairs, American Express Global Business Travel
Rachael McGuickin​Director of Business Development, Visit Belfast
Felicia AsieduSenior Marketing Manager, Cvent | Co-Founder at Diverse Speaker Bureau
Neil Brownlee          Head of Business Events, VisitScotland