NEW CHAIR FOR CONFERENCE CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

Steven Crawford, Centre Director at Missenden Abbey conference centre in Buckinghamshire, is to become the new Chair of Conference Centres of Excellence. The consortium is the UK’s leading group of specialist conference venues, with more than 3600 beds under management across its 36 member venues.  

Steven takes over at the end of October from Tim Willows, Finance Director and General Manager at the Wilton Park conference centre in Sussex. Tim became Chair in June, but has since learned that he is moving to a new role in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, parent Department of Wilton Park, and will no longer have responsibility for the venue.

Steven has extensive experience in the management and development of large and small conference operations. He has been at the 57 bedroom Missenden Abbey - which is owned by Buckinghamshire New University - for six years, seeing it develop into one of the country’s most distinctive and successful venues. Previously, he spent 16 years with Warwick University’s conference activity - which has a total of 5,500 rooms - including periods as Deputy Director for Warwick Hospitality and as general manager of one of its three residential venues, Arden House. He is a Member of the Institute of Hospitality and of the Royal Society of Health.

He becomes Chair as Conference Centres of Excellence moves into a new stage of its evolution. In August the consortium appointed Anthony Lishman as its first Executive Director, a new, full time position designed to help the consortium grow through a process of raising its sector profile and achieving a progressive increase in membership.
 
“I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to our consortium: Anthony's appointment has brought new energy to its activities and will help enhance its position as the largest supplier of dedicated meeting space in the UK,” commented Steven: “Though the economic environment is in constant change, business trends for specialist venues continue to be positive - clear evidence that focused facilities and staff, which help optimise the cost-effectiveness of every event, are more important than ever to conference organisers.”  


Notes for editors

A picture of Steven Crawford, if not sent with this release, is available from MGK Communications (see below)

Conference Centres of Excellence is the UK’s only consortium of independent conference and meeting providers, all of which provide a completely focused service. Members range from established centres to successful new providers, some located near town and city centres and others in rural locations and country estates. All members have achieved stringent quality standards in terms of conference and support facilities and customer care.

Conference Centres of Excellence provides a free, focused venue-finding service for corporate clients, providing single-source guidance on facilities, availability and price for each member venue; it also arranges visits. The service can be contacted on 0845 230 1414, email info@cceonline.co.uk. The consortium’s website www.cceonline.co.uk includes extensive information on all members.

Further information
MGK Communications       Michael Kennedy                  0121 605 4048                                                                         michaelkennedy@talk21.com