Visit Northumberland Ltd

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The Visit Northumberland Ltd Board is made up of a small, select group of active representatives of the Northumberland visitor economy that oversee the delivery of activity benefits all Visit Northumberland partners.

The Visit Northumberland Ltd Board provides all oversight required as a company Limited by Guarantee registered with Companies House and is responsible for Visit Northumberland’s operational and partnership activities. It is made of representatives at Northumberland County Council officer level and three visitor economy private sector and stakeholder members.

The Board’s primary function is to approve and oversee progress against the annual operational Delivery Plan responsibilities and maintain budgetary oversight, financial and fiduciary duties.

Key areas of responsibility are as follows:

  • deliver the principals of the Visit Northumberland operating agreement.
  • approval of the Visit Northumberland operational delivery plan. 
  • scrutiny of activity, delivery and budgetary control of Visit Northumberland operations in delivery of the partnership and engagement programme.
  • act as the oversight body for all fiduciary, financial and legal responsibilities for the Company.


Members reflect the geography of the county, the breadth and focus of the tourism offer and the diversity of the Visit Northumberland Partnership and offer expert insight, advice and support to contribute effectively to the overall work of Visit Northumberland activities.

The Board meets quarterly with monthly review of the organisation’s financial position.

Expert People

Meet the board

Chair

Andrew Fox

Andrew has over 25 years experience in senior executive roles in internationally branded properties, including corporate city centre, airport, and golf, leisure and spa resorts. His board level and Destination Management experience comes from a range of non-Executive roles.

His expertise covers commercial leadership across profit and loss, sales, marketing and revenue management, capital project management and ROI delivery. He is focused on customer service delivery, people development, and team member engagement leadership.

Andrew’s skills include large event planning and delivery, owner/JV relationships, hotel openings and brand re-positioning, as well as concept creation for Food and Beverage, and Spa. He has led complex businesses, communication strategies, business analysis, trends and market sector statistics. He is particularly focused on product development and service delivery to drive asset value.

Andrew is passionate about Northumberland. He grew up in the county, he lives in Northumberland and spends much of his free time exploring the area.

Board Member

Jeff Watson

Jeff Watson is the elected County Councillor for Amble West with Warkworth and is the Cabinet member for Healthy lives (which includes Tourism) as well as Chair of Advance Northumberland.

Before becoming a Councillor, Jeff had a successful business career, home and overseas in Blue Chip, FMCG companies and retired as President of Sara Lee in Canada in 1995. Jeff returned to the UK with his wife and together they developed an Antique shop in Warkworth. He was involved in the Tourist industry subsequent to his retirement and had several holiday cottages before concentrating full time on local Government.

He has lived in Warkworth, Acklington and Amble since returning from Canada. He is involved with several trusts and charities both in the local area and elsewhere in Northumberland.

Board Member

Maria Antoniou

Maria Antoniou is Head of Economic Development at Northumberland County Council, leading the delivery of economic development in the county, driving new and innovative inclusive growth activities, and playing an integral role in the devolution agenda in the North East.

With a background in local and regional economic development and regional devolution, Maria is committed to the North East and delivering real and lasting impact.

Working collaboratively with local, regional, and national partners, she has built collaborative visions and lead evidenced based strategy development and operational delivery in a number of thematic areas including Culture, Creative Industries, Tourism, Green Growth & Climate Change, and the Rural economy.

Her work has included, leading the transition of the Visit Northumberland partnership with Northumberland County Council, establishment of three Culture and Creative Zones in the region; the establishment of a regional partnership with Creative UK and implementation of regional cluster programmes; supporting the mobilisation of the North East Screen Industries Partnership; and the establishment of the Net Zero North East partnership.

Board Member

Jennie Collingwood

Jennie is a marketing and brand specialist beginning her career with Merchant Retail Group before moving on to local government where she was Head of Culture and Tourism at Tynedale Council and later Northumberland County Council. She is currently Head of Marketing, Brand and External Communications at Northumbrian Water Group where she is responsible for customer and stakeholder communication and engagement. Her campaign work holds awards from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Jennie studied English Literature at Teesside University, Enterprise Management at Durham University and most recently Leadership and Performance Coaching at Northumbria University.

Jennie is an experienced Non-Executive Director, holding positions at NewcastleGateshead Initiative and The Bowes Museum – she is a passionate advocate for Northumberland and the north east; supporting tourism, culture and the arts and driving positive change which improves the local economy and delivers lasting social legacy.

Board Member

Sonya Galloway

Sonya has been a member of the Senior Management Team at the Vindolanda Charitable Trust for over a decade. Her expertise includes brand development, marketing, event management and public relations.

She Chairs the Northumberland Destination Management Plan Board (DMP) and is priority lead for the DMP Position & Profile working group. She also works closely with Hadrian’s Wall partners across the north-east and north-west and is an active member of the Hadrian’s Wall Marketing Group.

Sonya was born and brought up in the west of the county, a former pupil at Haydon Bridge High School, she went on to study geography at the University of Aberdeen. Before returning to Northumberland, she had a career in Town & Country Planning specialising in complex, large-scale planning applications in the NE of Scotland.

Sonya is an advocate for partnership working. She is passionate about the county and supporting the tourism industry to move forward in an environmentally and socially responsible way.

Board Member

Adam Chaffer

Adam is a Director and the Company Secretary of Visit Northumberland. He is an Associate Solicitor Advocate at Hay & Kilner LLP specialising in Dispute Resolution with a particular interest in Construction Law and Intellectual Property, Media & Communication disputes.

Outside of his practice, he also works as a commercial mediator and is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Law where he teaches intellectual property, business law and acquisitions. Prior to his appointment, Adam was an elected Governor at the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust between 2013 and 2018 and was also the Company Secretary at Newcastle Cricket Club.

He is currently the Independent Person for Standards at the Northumberland National Park.

Adam lives in the Tyne valley and can often be found out walking, or paddle boarding. He is passionate about Northumberland and promoting access to the region for all.

Board Member

Tony Regan

Before semi-retirement Tony was Deputy Ambassador and Director of Trade and Industry to Colombia, successfully leading the return of direct flights to the UK in support of trade, business and tourism between the two countries.

Tony has been based in the north east since 1984 and has worked across government, and in a number of countries, primarily on national security. Home Office Transformation Director (forensics and mobile intelligence);Executive Director UK Civil Nuclear Police Authority; advisor to the governments of Afghanistan, Bulgaria and the European Commission. He brings to the Board experience of government, politics, diplomacy and service delivery, joining VN in late 2022.

Board Member

Robert Stewart

Starting life as a chef, I have worked in America, Ireland, Spain and across the UK, predominantly back of house but also gaining experience front of house, working as a night porter, housekeeping and even as a valet.

Having moved to Newcastle in 2001 and spending two years working for the 21 Hospitality I re-trained as a teacher and started my first lecturing job in professional cookery in 2010, going on to gain my BA (Hons) in Education Studies in 2018. Since starting in education, I have run and manged a number of teams across further Education, specialising in Tourism, Catering and Hospitality. Since early 2020, I have worked as Curriculum Director, Ashington as part of Northumberland Colleges Leadership team. During this time, I have overseen the curriculum development during, through and beyond the COVID years and helped move the College forward with an Ofsted rating of Good.

I have lived and worked in the North East since 2001 and regularly visit Northumberland, currently residing just on the cusp of the county in Blaydon. I particularly enjoy Hadrian’s wall, The Cheviots and walks along Alnmouth beach. Passionate for skills development and people, I genuinely hope to have a positive impact in my role on the board.

Interested in joining the Visit Northumberland Board?

While we are not proactively recruiting new members to the board, if you feel you are able to contribute to the development of the Northumberland visitor economy, please contact the chair outlining your interest and suitability.

Email: andrew.fox@visitnorthumberland.com

Tel: 01670 794 520