BT Visit London Awards 2009: Judges

Yasmin Arrigo has worked at Haymarket Media Group since 2004 and was appointed editor of Conference & Incentive Travel in October 2006. The UK's leading meetings magazine is circulated to more than 18,500 event planners and C&IT's portfolio now includes the annual Brand Book, State of the Industry report, Power 50, Venue London and The A List, plus a series of mini guides.
www.citmagazine.com relaunched last year and features the latest industry news, case studies, features and photo galleries, plus four weekly e-news bulletins and web TV features including C&IT Cribs. With a background in travel journalism, Yasmin has contributed to Travel Weekly, Business Traveller and the Columbus Travel guides. Her favourite London haunts include White Hart Lane and High Road House.

Robin Broke had a successful first career in the Armed Forces before being appointed as Director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) in 1996. ALVA was conceived 19 years ago to represent to Government, the tourism industry, the media and the public the views and achievements of the country's foremost visitor attractions. Currently ALVA has 42 member companies/ organisations managing more than 1,500 separate sites, including many of our most famous museums, galleries and heritage sites whose international standing makes them a magnet for overseas visitors.
Robin has been actively involved with the Tourism Alliance as a Board Member since its inception, having played a large role in founding it in 2001. He is a member of the Tourism Industry’s Emergency Response Group (TIER) and of the British Tourism Development Committee (BTDC). He sits on the Historic Houses Association's Tourism and Commercial Development Committee, among many other commitments.

Henry Chappell is the founder and Chief Executive of Pitch, a ground breaking communications consultancy specialising in the sports, leisure and events industries. Since its formation, Pitch has been at the forefront of the rapidly growing sports communications industry, representing a wide range of high-profile clients including organisations such as Chelsea FC, and the NBA; sports venues such as Lord’s and Wembley; and global brands and corporations undertaking sports marketing programmes such as Hugo Boss, Skandia, and Sony Ericsson. Recent campaigns include the launch of England’s 2018 World Cup bid and Fred Perry’s hugely successful sponsorship of Andy Murray. Henry, 35, started his career in sports marketing at IMG, prior to becoming a Director at the leading PR agency, Freud Communications. Henry lives in West London, with his wife, two kids, a dog, and an increasingly large collection of football kit, golf clubs, tennis rackets and bicycles.

Sebastian is Acting Head of Marketing for Magic 105.4, London's No 1 commercial radio station. Connecting with Londoners is his key focus for the station and the main challenge. His career in broadcast marketing has spanned 7 years and has exclusively focussed on the London marketplace. He grew up in London and currently lives in Barnes.

Greg Dawson is currently director of communications for private equity backed Travelodge Hotels Ltd. In 2005, Greg was drafted in to boost the budget hotel chain’s consumer and corporate profile as its former owners Permira prepared the business for sale. During his time at Travelodge, Greg’s team has moved its brand awareness from 70% to 99%, has led the private sector’s response to a cross political party Tourism Inquiry and placed his company at the heart of London’s tourism and employment agendas. Greg joined Travelodge from RBS where he was Head of Public Relations for three years. He worked in the RBS insurance division following its merging of household brands, Direct Line, Green Flag and Churchill. Prior to Greg’s three year stint in financial services, he worked at J Sainsbury plc where he held a number of senior communications roles over seven years. Greg is a regular contributor to the newly formed Government Tourism Advisory Council and is a regular speaker and judge for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Phil Evans has over 16 years' experience in public sector tourism, working for a range of local authorities throughout England. Between 1999 and 2003 he was Head of Tourism at Southwark Council. Since then he has specialised in visitor economy and business support issues working on policy, project and performance management for the GLA and the Mayor’s Office. Phil’s previous experience includes running his own hospitality businesses on the south coast and working overseas as a management trainer in Spain, Eastern Europe and the Far East.
Phil is a keen advocate of investment in the visitor sector and he is an active member of the professional tourism associations. He has sat on the National Council of the Tourism Management Institute, represents the London region and is on the TMI’s CPD and Communications Working Groups. He is also Deputy Chair of Destination Performance UK and an England representative of the European Union of Tourism Officers.

Richard Foulkes is Director of Special Events & Productions at Imagination, one of the world's leading independent integrated communications agencies. Joining Imagination from the theatre in 1982, Richard was instrumental in establishing the company’s technical and production strategy for its event and exhibition activities. Moving on from that challenge, he became an influential member of Imagination’s client facing Brand Communications Group, where he was responsible for initiating and implementing face-to-face and marketing projects for a diversity of blue-chip clients including Warner Brothers, Ford, Coca-Cola, Orange and Guinness.
In 1999, Richard was invited to join the Imagination Board of Directors as Director of Special Events & Productions. Since then he has worked on an international scale delivering bespoke events and large scale brand campaigns. Richard is also on the Development Board of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and is President-Elect of the ISES UK Chapter

Christine Hayes has been editor of Olive magazine, BBC Worldwide’s upmarket monthly food and travel magazine, since its launch in 2003. She is a keen cook, knows the London restaurant scene inside out and regularly travels throughout Britain and beyond in search of good places to eat and drink to share with Olive’s readers. Before this Christine worked for IPC Media in Sydney where she edited wedding magazine Bride To Be and launched Australian 25 Beautiful Homes. She also edited IPC Media’s Wedding & Home magazine in the UK and started her career at Emap on young women's magazines Looks and More.

Martin is a professionally qualified London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and is currently Treasurer of the Association of Professional Tourist Guides (APTG is an independent sector of Unite, the largest trade union in the UK). In addition to being a qualified Blue Badge Tourist Guide, Martin has many years' experience in management across a wide range of museums and visitor attractions – starting with the groundbreaking Museum of the Moving Image in 1988 and including Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, and latterly as Visitor Services Manager at the Millennium Dome (now The O2). Blue Badge is all about quality and giving visitors the very best possible experience. Martin is looking forward to bringing his guiding and visitor attraction management experience together as a judge for the prestigious Visit London Awards.

Jonathan is a renowned industry commentator who specialises in market demand, financial feasibility studies, strategic planning, and product development. He has advised a range of hospitality clients from individual budget hotels through to multi-component urban and leisure resorts. Jonathan has also helped develop brand new hotel concepts, analysing their viability and taking a hands-on role in bringing each concept to market.
Acting as an expert witness he has given evidence in hotel rent reviews and planning arbitration. Prior to joining TRI Hospitality Consulting, Jonathan worked for Hilton International in Brussels and for Whitbread in operational management and marketing roles. He joined TRI in 1986 and became Managing Director in 1995.
Outside his consulting activities Jonathan chairs the Tourism and Leisure Committee of British Expertise, is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and the Tourism Society and sits on the Editorial Board of Hospitality Magazine. He also maintains close links with his alma mater the University of Surrey, where he has held appointments as Visiting Fellow and Professional Stage Fellow, and frequently returns to give lectures.

Rochelle Long is editor of leading industry magazine Meetings and Incentive Travel. A journalist for 10 years, Rochelle has a background in daily newspaper reporting in her native New Zealand. Rochelle has lived in the UK for four years. She was previously deputy editor of Conference News and Conference + Meetings World. M&IT provides event organisers with the latest news, meetings and events destinations, case studies, and event strategies. For further information visit www.meetpie.com

Brian currently works for the Events for London team at the Greater London Authority (GLA) and is responsible for a portfolio of events including Chinese New Year, China in London, St George's Day, Diwali on the Square, Liberty Festival (disability arts) and London Mela. He also took a leading role in the delivery of Olympic Torch Relays in 2004 and 2008, in particular the development of complementary community events programmes. Prior to his work at the GLA, Brian assumed the role of Events Officer for London Borough of Tower Hamlets. In Tower Hamlets he worked to establish the major events and concert programme in Victoria Park and development of community festivals around the borough.

Dick Porter is Chairman of the British Educational Travel Association – a membership based lobbying organisation improving opportunities for international education through travel into and out of Britain. He co-founded a travel business in 1976 which is today STA Travel, a Company specialising in student travel and trading in 92 countries with sales in excess of US$1.25 billion. Dick remains a Director of the STA Travel Group. He is Chairman of Top Deck Tours as well as Director of a number of charities, companies and trade associations.

Keith is a barrister and ABTA’s Head of Business Development and Consumer Affairs. He writes and broadcasts on consumer affairs having been Senior Campaigns Lawyer at the UK’s Consumers’ Association and legal editor of the journal Consumer Policy Review for many years. He is author of several consumer law books including 450 Legal Problems Solved and is a member of the Confederation of British Industry’s Consumer Affairs Panel. Keith is responsible for ABTA’s policy and strategy work on Corporate Responsibility including sustainable development, holiday health and safety, and disability access issues. Keith also heads ABTA complaints-handling, access to justice, education and events departments.
Keith is a member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the statutory body responsible for advising the UK Government on disabilities and accessible transport, and is chair of its Aviation Committee. He is also a member of the DCMS tourism accessibility group and chairs its working group on consumer engagement to deliver the Government’s accessibility strategy for 2012. Keith represents the European travel trade industry body (ECTAA) on the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) disabilities group. He also represents the UK outbound tourism industry on the European Commission Tourism Sustainability Group.

Brian Seaman joined Tourism for All (previously known as Holiday Care) in 1993 from a background of working within both the English Tourist Board and the London Convention Bureau. Brian has represented Tourism for All on several national committees reviewing criteria that relate to accessibility – including reviewing access and facilities at large hotels as part of a working group at British Standards. He has advised on Destination Access Audits at a number of cities and towns across England including Brighton and Hove, Stratford upon Avon, Winchester and South Buckinghamshire. He has also been working closely with many businesses and organisations including the MS Society, the National Trust and Thistle and Guoman Hotels. In addition, Brian has been involved in training issues, providing the original basis for VisitBritain’s ‘Welcome All’ training programme.

Chris's lifetime spent within the customer service industry provided the stimulation to build a company that helps its clients deliver fantastic customer service – Assured Customer Experience. Chris's enthusiasm and passion for developing a growing mystery shopping company means there is never a dull moment. He says it's reassuring to know that the company's feedback actually makes a difference to its clients and helps increase their sales and improve customer service. In these challenging times customers are demanding great value, fashioned from great service at a great price.
The nature of Chris's business ensures he is a frequent visitor to London. He says: "I believe the diverse mix of people and culture within our capital is truly the finest anywhere in the world. It is a great privilege to be judging the Visit London Awards."

Donna Taylor joined LOCOG as Head of Accommodation in May 2007. She is responsible for accommodating the IOC family, dignitaries, sponsors, 22,000 accredited media and technical officials both in the run up to 2012 and during the Games. She was previously Managing Director of Highlife Breaks, a Short Breaks tour operator owned by Thistle Hotels. Donna joined Thistle Hotels initially in 2004 as Director of Distribution. From 2002-2004 Donna was Commercial Manager of Lastminute.com and prior to that worked for Gullivers Travel Associates, a global wholesaler, as Head of Global Contracting.

Brian Wisdom joined People 1st as Chief Executive Office in November 2004. He is responsible for promoting the company's work at the heart of the skills agenda in the UK. This includes representing the sector to Government and learning providers, helping to address current and future skills issues to increase business productivity and individuals' employability. He also sits on the board for the National Skills Academy for Hospitality. He has extensive experience in the sector, having previously held senior roles at Grand Metropolitan, Whitbread, Thresher and Six Continents PLC (now Mitchells and Butler). Brian is also closely involved with a number of bodies working towards a successful 2012 for the tourism industry.

Since Sarah became Barclays' Head of Events the team has received industry and internal recognition winning Silver for Best Conference, Eventia 2007; Silver for Best Events Team, Eventia 2008; Barclays Chairman’s Award for training work with the charity sector and Sarah was recognised as one of seven "Women of the Year 2008" for her team leadership, business and personal achievements. In her spare time Sarah is a Trustee of The Stuart Feakins Trust, a charity that supports disadvantaged young people in Hackney achieve their goals and ambitions.