Carolyn has worked in the BID industry for 14 years beginning her career in the Midlands, moving into UK wide consultancy, then management of a town BID and now heading up FOR Cardiff the UKs 5th largest BID after working there for the last 7 years. She is also the Vice Chair of ATCM Wales, recently taking part in meetings with Welsh Government about business rate reform and a member of the Leadership Board for The BID Foundation. In her spare time is passionate about empowering women and does this via volunteering as a trustee for Wales’s leading gender equality charity Chwarae Teg, creating and leading the Cardiff Women’s Safety Network and mentoring young women looking to move into the world of business.

Adam joined Medway Council on 14 August 2023, becoming the Director of Place, having been the Chief Executive at the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, overseeing significant regeneration projects across the region.

Adam has previous experience working in regional development and in Local Government, having held a number of roles at Essex County Council, including the Head of Place Partnership Integration.

Adam studied a degree in German at University of Nottingham, has a Masters in Management from the Nottingham Business School and is a committed Nottingham Forest fan. Adam also enjoys cricket and exploring the UK on family holidays with their dog.

As Director of Place, Adam Bryan has responsibility for Frontline Services, Culture and Community and Regeneration.

• The Frontline Services division provides essential services for our customers and residents, such as Waste, Safer Communities, Highways and Transport
• The Culture and Community division is responsible for a variety of service areas including Medway’s cultural offer, libraries and community hubs, planning, housing, sport, leisure, tourism, heritage and building control
• Regeneration this division is responsible for leading our ambitious programme of physical regeneration across Medway as well as our developing our 5 main town centres into vibrant hubs for our communities. Our Skills agenda also falls within this division, including our Adult Education offer and our established skills hub based in Gillingham Town Centre.

The Directorate’s aim is to establish Medway as a great place to live, to work, to learn and to visit, drawing on our rich heritage to deliver a great future for Medway.

Adam is a Board Member for Locate in Kent, Visit Kent, Kent Chamber of Commerce and Medway Place Board.

Maria recently took up the position of Chief Executive at Cambridge BID after nine years in Watford, seven of those as Chief Executive of Watford BID. Before returning to the south Maria worked for Newcastle City as a Senior Regeneration Manager and in Northumberland as a Head of Service responsible for Tourism, Economic Development, Town Centre regeneration, Arts & Culture and Sports Development. She led on and managed a number of capital and revenue projects, including managing a regeneration programme across the rural coalfield, development of a long distance walk route, a new build Tourist Information Centre, car park and toilet block and the restoration on ancient listed monument.

In between Northumberland and Newcastle Maria worked in Italy renovating a villa and as a business development consultant, where she identified a site and managed the development of a Youth Hostel in Alnwick, securing £500,000 grant funding for it’s development. The YH was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

In her spare time Maria enjoys swimming, cooking (and eating), trips to the theatre, travelling and painting (very badly).

Kirsty McLean is the Executive Director for Public Sector Innovation at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and leads work with Government on the Combined Authority’s devolution ambitions. She is leading work on a new programme to establish a new Office of Public Service Innovation, transforming how people in the city region are supported by local services through an innovative use of data and a community based approach to early intervention. Kirsty is also responsible the city region’s overall International agenda, including leading on establishing our new Local Visitor Economy Partnership, developing and delivering the city region’s new tourism destination management strategy. 

Prior to taking on this role, Kirsty was the Executive Director Policy, Strategy and Government Relations for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority where she was responsible for ensuring the CA’s work was underpinned by a strong evidence base, robust economic analysis and timely engagement of stakeholders. She was also responsible for developing our overall strategy and policy priorities and engaging Government to influence national policy and secure opportunities for the city region. 

Kirsty was previously Area Director for the North West in the Cities and Local Growth Unit, a joint unit between the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, leading work with places on local growth and devolution. Kirsty was also responsible for delivering the Government’s Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Prior to that Kirsty was an Executive Director in the Shareholder Executive with responsibility for the strategy of the Public Data Group; a non-Executive Director position on the Land Registry Board; and the digital transformation of the Business, Innovation and Skills Department and its partner organisations. Kirsty previously led on a range of skills and education policies in the Business and Education Departments. Kirsty was also Private Secretary to two Education Secretaries.

Miriam was one of the first people to join the the Delivery Team for Bradford 2025, working with Dan Bates, Executive Director and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, to build a team to build the delivery team, create the programme and ensure that Bradford 2025 is the most incredible year for everyone in Bradford and across the world. Bradford 2025 is the largest City of Culture to date and includes the whole of Bradford District from the Victorian city centre to the moors that inspired Emily Bronte, and the market towns of Ilkley, Shipley and Bingley.

Miriam has 30 years of experience in arts, broadcast media, talent development, grant-making and charity administration. She led the BBC Performing Arts Fund for 13 years, awarding £5.5m in bursaries and grants to the music, dance and theatre sector. She has been an external assessor for the Clore Fellowship, PRS for Music Foundation and the Radio Academy.

Her role at Bradford 2025 includes Guest Services and she is working closely with colleagues in the Bradford Council, WYCA and the LVEP to welcome three million extra visitors to the district in 2025.

Martin has been Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council since March 2023. He was previously Chief Executive of Coventry City Council for over 14 years and was also the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority from March 2016 to September 2017. He had previously been with Bedfordshire County Council for three and a half years as Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Executive.  

Martin has held strategic leadership roles in a District and an outer London Borough and was Programme Director for Work Smart, Westminster City Council’s flagship transformation programme.

Martin spent much of his early career as a lecturer and researcher and has a PhD in applied economics.

He has an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his service and commitment to the City of Coventry and is the first Honorary President of LARIA (Local Area Research and Intelligence Association).

He is a former President of SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers) and is the current Local Government Association (LGA) National Procurement Champion.

Luca Romozzi, Commercial Director at Sojern, manages the international sales team focused on Destinations & Corporate clients across Europe. He has almost 18 years of experience in the world of tourism, digital technology and destination marketing. Before joining Sojern, he worked for more than 10 years during the Expedia Media Solutions team's expansion into EMEA. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University and completed a Master in Tourism Economics and Management from Ciset Ca' Foscari in Venice.

Louisa Shaw is the Place Brand Manager at We Are Staffordshire, a new approach to promoting and marketing the county, funded by Staffordshire County Council.

Louisa is working with Staffordshire’s Place Board of business leaders and partners to develop and promote a vibrant new place brand and narrative for Staffordshire, maximising opportunities to promote inward investment, support visitor economy, and generate economic growth across the county.

With over a decade's experience in destination marketing, Louisa has led complex marketing and community engagement programmes for major infrastructure and regeneration developments in the Midlands and wider UK.

Boyd Sleator is a dedicated advocate for human rights, equality and freedom of expression. His work as coordinator of Northern Ireland Humanists and as co-founder of Free The Night has led to significant steps forward for many marginalised voices in Northern Ireland.

Boyd has immersed himself in the music industry for over a decade as a DJ, record store manager and promoter of electronic events across Northern Ireland and Manchester. His passion for music led him to pursue formal education in Music Production & Development at Spirit Studios in Manchester (formerly The School of Sound Recording), with his abilities soon being recognised by Fergie on BBC Radio 1. With nationwide radio play and residencies across Northern Ireland, England and Ibiza, Boyd was hailed as one of Mixmag's Future Heroes in 2003. Today, he continues to produce electronic music as a dedicated enthusiast in his personal home studio, inspired by the intricate and experimental sounds of Chris Clarke, Com Truise and Max Cooper.

This deep connection to the dancefloor led him to found Free The Night with local DJ Holly Lester in early 2021; a charity committed to progressing nightlife in Northern Ireland following a lack of change to archaic licensing policy that affects dancefloors across the country. The pair has been working tirelessly on issues affecting the nighttime landscape, and they have had several major accomplishments since forming, most notably the publication of the first comprehensive study on Northern Irish nightlife in their 2022 research paper Transforming Nightlife in Northern Ireland.

Outside of his work for Free The Night, Boyd is recognised for his achievements in advocacy for human rights and equality and has contributed to several legal and societal advancements in Northern Ireland. His efforts have been pivotal in a Supreme Court case that marked a substantial legal victory for bodily autonomy in Northern Ireland and he championed the cause for legal recognition and equality for non-religious humanist ceremonies, advocating for inclusive practices across various sectors. His contributions to education reform are noteworthy, stressing the importance of inclusive and diverse schools that respect and reflect a broad spectrum of beliefs and values.

With a wealth of experience in policy development, community building and advocacy, Boyd maintains a profound commitment to instigating positive changes in Northern Ireland and beyond.

Kate is Director of the GREAT Programme, the UK government's flagship marketing campaign, designed to encourage an international audience to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK. In FY22/23, the GREAT programme returned on average £15 to the UK economy for every £1 spent.

Kate joined government in 2020 and within 6 months led the successful refresh of the GREAT brand, which has since been rolled out to over 150 markets, promoting everything from UK science and technology to the arts and values.

Prior to joining Government Kate held a variety of marketing and leadership roles in the private sector, developing award-winning marketing for Heinz, Mars, Sainsbury’s, House of Fraser and The Metropolitan Police Service among others.

Ian has worked in the tourism industry since 2001, starting at Northumbria Tourist Board as research assistant. Since then, he has held a range of roles at One North East and NewcastleGateshead Initiative.

Over the 20 years Ian has worked in tourism, he has supported destinations across the country to develop destination management plans, strategize, implement change, and conduct large scale research projects. For the last 10 years Ian has been the regional research lead for tourism in the North East, and he sits on the VisitEngland Research Group. He also sits on the board of Beamish Museum.

As founding Director of thinkingplace, John has directed the development of over 80 place brands over the last 16 years across the UK. He is active in promoting and implementing this best practice approach of creating a shared place story, widening place leadership and creating active collaboration as a key part of growing a place’s economy and promoting local pride. He has led projects for places as diverse as Hampshire, Nottingham, Torbay, Harrogate, North Cambridgeshire, Newhaven, Medway, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Harrogate, Perth and all three UK Cities of Culture.

John has also been working with places to help them develop their response to the Towns Deal, Future High Streets Fund, Levelling Up Funding and Shared Prosperity Fund and is a Mentor to the High Streets Task Force helping to support local authorities and communities to transform their places.