Chairman
The YTB Board is led by Chairman, Claire Morrow, who took to the helm on 1 April 2008. She has served on the board of Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) since April 2005 working as the 'Board Champion' dealing with private partners. She is a highly experienced journalist who spent over 20 years with the ITV and BBC working on both television and radio projects.
She grew up in Hull and spent all her working life in Yorkshire starting her career with the Beverley Guardian in 1984 and working for Viking FM and BBC Humberside before launching her TV career with Look North. Clare worked for ITV Yorkshire for 15 years until 2007 in various roles including editor of Calendar and controller of programmes.
She is the vice chair of governors at Holly Bank School in Mirfield, on the board of the West Yorkshire Playhouse and is a member the University of Bradford’s Industrial Advisory Board.
Non-Executive Directors
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Sir Thomas Ingilby, Bt, Owner of Ripley Castle. Chair Yorkshire's Great Houses and Castles, Chair Great Inns of Britain, lifetime involvement in tourism and heritage. Current Board member Yorkshire Tourist Board.
Board Champion role - Finance - Deputy Chairman, YTB |
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Elaine Bedford, OBE, Owner and operator Eastgate Cottages, Pickering. Former Acting Chief Executive English Tourism Council. Career with First Leisure Corporation, and later Operations Director Royal Armouries. Current Board member Yorkshire Tourist Board.
Board Champion role - Accommodation & Quality |
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Colin Brown, Chief Executive, The Deep Millennium Project. Wide-ranging experience in culture, leisure and recreation management with Local Authorities in London, Ipswich and Hull.
Board Champion role - South and East Yorkshire |
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Cllr. Carl Les, Owner and operator, The Lodge at Leeming Bar. Chair of Your Hotel in the UK Ltd, member North Yorkshire Police Authority, member Learning and Skills Council, Director Business Link North Yorkshire. Current Board member Yorkshire Tourist Board and executive member of North Yorkshire County Council.
Board Champion role - Public Partners |
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Neil Pakey, Commercial Director of Peel Airports Limited and Board Director of Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, Durham Tees Valley Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Previously held key roles in Marketing, Operations and Planning for Manchester Airport p.l.c and worked for British Caledonian Airways and Air Seychelles. Seconded to the aviation unit of the European Commission from 1991 – 1994. Past Chair of Mersey Tourism and appointed Managing Director of Liverpool John Lennon Airport in August 2002.
Board Champion role - Business Tourism |
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Chris Pilling, Chief Executive, First Direct. His career has revolved round customer service, marketing and sales. In the early days he worked for Procter and Gamble on brands such as Ariel and Vidal Sassoon before moving to British Airways as General Manager responsible for marketing and customer relations for the UK and Ireland. Before joining first direct, he was Marketing and Customer Service Director for ASDA.
Board Champion role - Commercial |
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Robert Salmon, Director Corporate Affairs, Kelda Group plc. Board Director Yorkshire Water. PR professional with experience in a variety of sectors. Former Chair of the North West Institute of Public Relations and Managing Director Weber Shandwick, Manchester.
Board Champion role - Marketing |
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Professor Rhodri Thomas, Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT) Chair in Tourism and Events Policy, Leeds Metropolitan University. An academic involved with tourism education and research for 20 years. Has written numerous articles on tourism and is author/editor of five books. Chair of ATLAS Tourism SME research network.
Board Champion role - Sustainability |
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Barbara Woroncow, OBE, Deputy Chair Leeds Cultural Partnership. Extensive experience in advertising and developing museums including as Chief Executive of Yorkshire Museums Council. Expert adviser and project coordinator for UNESCO in the South Caucasus.
Board Champion role - North and West Yorkshire |
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Zulfi Karim, Director of events management company Mec UK Ltd. Former Commercial Director Bradford International Festival, work on developing cultural industries in Bradford and member of the Cultural Tourism Forum.
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Executive Directors
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David Andrews,
Chief Executive, YTB. Born and educated in Vancouver, Canada,
David holds a BA Double Major in Economics and Geography,
MSc in Tourism Planning & Development and a CIM Diploma
in Marketing.
David has held positions at the Arts Council
of Great Britain, Kent County Council, Humberside County Council
and joined Yorkshire Tourist Board in 1992 as Head of Development
Services. He was appointed Chief Executive in 1998. |
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Joanna Royle,
Marketing Director, YTB. Joanna is a marketing practitioner
with eighteen years gained in a range of industries from clothing
to tourism.
A Bradford graduate, Joanna has a 2:1 honours
degree in European Studies with French and a CIM Diploma in
Marketing. In her position at YTB as Marketing Director, Joanna
is leading the development of strategic marketing in the region. |
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Peter Render,
Finance Director, YTB, has lived in Yorkshire all his life
and was appointed as an Executive Director in November 2006.
Peter has more than 10 years experience as
a Finance Director, principally in professional service and
distribution businesses. He spent more than 7 years in public
practice at Price Waterhouse and 7 years at Yorkshire Water
Authority.
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