Tourism Tyne & Wear Partnership Board

Chair

Stewart Lorimer
Cluster General Manager North, Marriott Hotels
Stewart oversees hotels in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham. He is Chairman of the North East Hoteliers Association. He has been on the One NorthEast Tourism Advisory Board and NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) Board and is a Board Member of Young Enterprise North East.

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 David Faulkner
Deputy Leader, Newcastle City Council
David has extensive board level experience including Tyne & Wear Development Company, Northern Rock Foundation, and the Regional Council of the CBI. He was previously Director of Personnel and Corporate Affairs at Northern Electric and Director of the Sponsor Club for Arts and Business.

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.

Keith Merrin
Director, Woodhorn
Keith recently became Director of Woodhorn in Northumberland. Previously, he was Director of Bede's World and has been central to the bid to secure World Heritage Status nomination for Wearmouth-Jarrow. He has worked regionally for culture10 as Acting Creative Director and in marketing for the Royal Society for Wildlife Trusts, Northumbria Wildlife Trust. He is a Board Member of the Museums and Libraries Association and the National Association of Independent Museums.

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.