The Association of Event Venues (AEV) has announced several changes to its board following its annual general meeting at The NEC Birmingham on 17 September.
Jeremy Rees, CEO of Excel London, stepped down as treasurer and was elected AEV chair. He succeeds outgoing chair Ian Taylor, COO of NEC Group, who remains on the board alongside outgoing vice-chair Kerry Villa, COO of Liverpool Experience Campus. Lori Hoinkes, CEO of Manchester Central, was elected vice-chair to replace Kerry Villa, and Dan Thurlow, director of exhibition sales at Scottish Event Campus, was elected treasurer to take Jeremy Rees’ former position.
Jackie Boughton, Paul Michael and Kerry Villa were all re-elected to the board, while Amanda Wrathall, CEO of EICC, joins for the first time and Rowan Kitching returns as director of strategic partners at The Jockey Club. Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, has resigned from the board.
In his outgoing chair’s report, Taylor said the association had a record year, running 23 focus groups across 77 meetings, totalling 1,129 member interactions, and welcoming eight new members. This brings total membership to 55, as well as nine academic associate members.
Rees will continue to try engaging with government
Rees said: “The events industry contributes £11.7bn to the UK economy; it is our role to continue engaging with government to ensure it is recognised and valued. Serving on the AEV board is a great privilege; the collective skill and expertise create a distinctive platform to highlight the appeal of our industry and, amongst other things, develop the skills agenda.”
Rachel Parker, AEV CEO, said: “I’d like to thank Ian and Kerry for their continued support of AEV, and wish Paula well. I am looking forward to working with the newly elected leadership and Board members as we continue our work in the year ahead, starting with our annual conference being held at ICC, Olympia in London on Thursday 26 November 2026.”
