Tourism Tyne & Wear Partnership Board

Chair

Guy Hilton, General Manager, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead 
Guy has been the General Manager of the hotel since November 2007, was previously at Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor and has been with Hilton since 2003. He is a member of the NGI Board as well as being a member of the NewcastleGateshead Hoteliers Association. Guy is married with two children and another on the way in June.
 

Board Members

Cllr John Mcelroy
Lead Member for Culture, Gateshead Council
John is Lead Member for Culture in Gateshead Council incorporating culture, sport, tourism and heritage. He has a professional background in public relations. He is a member of the Regional Board for Sport England and a Board Member of the North Music Trust (The Sage Gateshead).

Cllr Melville Speding
Cabinet Member & Portfolio Holder for Culture and Arts, Sunderland City Council.
Mel is Chair of the North of England Open Air Museum (Beamish) and Vice Chair of Tyne & Wear Museums Service. He was previously a Director of the Northumbria Tourist Board.

Andrew Bairstow
Communications Director for Nexus
Andy was previously Commercial Director and Head of Marketing at Nexus. He has been responsible for many Nexus initiatives in branding, retail and product development. A resident of Whitley Bay he is a Board Member of Audience North East and Dance City, and a Trustee of Metro Radio's 'Just for Kids' Charity.

Katherine Pearson
Chief Executive, National Glass Centre, Sunderland Katherine has been Chief Executive since 2004 and has worked previously as Director of Creative Partnerships for Durham and Sunderland following a career as an artist and lecturer. A resident of Whitburn she is also a member of The Scottish Arts Council Committee on Lottery and Capital.

Linda Tuttiett
Chief Executive, Hadrian's Wall Heritage Ltd
Linda manages the development of the new Hadrian's Wall partnership company. Her previous roles include Director of External Relations at Arts Council England and an extensive career with VisitBritain where she had various roles as Head of England Partnership Marketing Manager- Ireland and various international marketing roles in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Linda lives in Durham.

John Crummie
Managing Director, DFDS Seaways Limited
John is based at the International Ferry Terminal in North Tyneside. He has an extensive career in marketing and tourism working with DFDS, Rank Group and in retail travel with WH Smith. He has been Chair of the Passenger Shipping Association and is a Board Member of the Institute of Travel and Tourism's Council of Management.

Michael Ruddy
Director, Owner and Manger, York House Hotel and York House Apartments, North Tyneside.
Michael has been running the York House Hotel and Apartments since 1994, working previously with Holiday Inn. He has been Chair of the Whitley Bay Hoteliers Association, a group of 50 accommodation providers. He has assisted One NorthEast Tourism as a pilot for the Desti.ne tourism e-business system and has pioneered work on quality assessment.

Melissa Denton-Hawkes
Director of Legal Services, Port of Tyne.
Melissa is Director of Legal services at the Port of Tyne and is the Port's 'in house' solicitor. The port own and operate the International Passenger Terminal and the Cruise Terminal at North Shields and she is involved with all aspects of the business.

Cristina De Giorgi
Director, Owner Gusto UK Limited and Tynehead Poperty Limited.
Cristina, together with her two brothers, took over Gusto UK Limited from their father in 1996. Since then Gusto has opened five bar and restaurants in Newcastle City Centre. Cristina has sat on The Grainger Town Business Forum, The City Centre Business Forum, and The Licensing Advisory Committee and is an active member of the EAT Festival steering group.