Meet The Board

Barbara started her career as PR and Sales Promotion Manager for the newly-founded Lipizzaner Museum in Vienna.

After graduating from her Masters, she moved to London to work for English Heritage as a Regional Hospitality Manager for the East of England. Staying in the area, she worked for Elior as a Sales and Marketing Manager at the Imperial War Museum Duxford near Cambridge to set up the newly opened Airspace Conference Centre, for which they won the regional business award.

Keen to return to London, she accepted a position at Peyton & Byrne as Head of Conferencing for The British Library and later the newly-opened Imperial War Museum London. She was delighted in 2015 to be appointed Head of Conference Services at The Royal Society, with the objective of developing the business to become the most desirable venue in the scientific world.

During her time on the Board, Barbara has been a key figure in the membership’s vision and growth, and in September 2022, she was appointed the collection’s new Chair. At the collection’s AGM in 2023, Barbara continued her position on the Board as Vice Chair. In the 2024 AGM, Barbara was appointed as the collection’s new Chair for the second time.

As the Chair of Westminster Venue Collection for 2023, Paul has championed the venue association for the best part of almost 20 years of his hospitality industry experience.

Paul was Sales Manager at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal FC for 3 years, securing corporate clients for Raymond Blanc’s Michelin-star Diamond Club fine dining, high-profile Olympic-themed celebrations, the first E-sports gaming shows, entertaining £3m World Heavyweight Title fights and selling out pitch events.

Returning to London, Paul was Director of Sales & Marketing for 6.5 years, responsible for a £5m turnover across 5 Cavendish Venues. There he recruited and developed sales teams (supportive of HBAA next-generation initiatives), implemented key reporting structures, and introduced social enterprise partnerships (such as Foodinate), plus the Venue Booker agency wing.

As Chair of the London City Selection, he drove 20% membership growth and achieved £100k business returns for all venue members from organising the most successful annual Familiarisation Trip alone, before handing over to a new Chair and Board in a strong, healthy position.

Previously as a Westminster Venue Collection Board member, he oversaw a rebrand and website development which drove a 30% increase in enquiry levels for all venues, offering strong case studies based on returns on investment. He instigated the incentive strategy as a member benefit to drive business through referrals. Now having achieved first-time returns for Broadway House at Make Venues, Paul has been welcomed back to the WVC Board and in September 2022, he was appointed Vice Chair. In October 2023 at the Westminster Venue Collection, Paul was voted by members to become the Chair of the venue collection.

Our Head of Sales lives and breathes hospitality.  Medina says that what makes The Lansdowne Club so special is its family-orientated approach, where both staff and Members are made to feel part of one large family, in a Club that is very much a home away from home.

At the age of 16, Medina’s entry into the hospitality industry was set in stone when she travelled to London with her mum from her hometown of Nottingham and declared that she was going to work at the world-famous Dorchester Hotel.  She never gave up on that dream and worked there for five years, although she says that when she looks back, she still cannot believe it.

Medina has had an illustrious career in the industry, and her proudest moment was being awarded the Best Conference & Banqueting Team at the Catey Awards.  However, even that milestone moment cannot compare to the day she had lunch with none other than Nelson Mandela, which was cooked by our Executive Head Chef; a memory Medina says she will always treasure.  The inspirational former President of South Africa kissed her and she declared that she was never going to wash her face ever again!

Hospitality is Medina’s passion, and she enjoys being creative and creating exceptional experiences for Members and their guests, often exceeding their expectations, and she loves meeting people and entertaining them.

When she’s not busy co-ordinating out-of-this world events, Medina enjoys calypso dancing, and relaxes doing the ironing (yes, you really did read that right!), which she admits to finding very therapeutic – although she caveats it by adding that there is usually also a bottle of wine and a good film involved!

However, her passion for the industry is as strong now as the day she entered it, and her desire is to inspire the next generation, to impress upon them that this is a truly rewarding career.

“This is a passion, not a job.  And this may be a service industry, but it’s a lifestyle skill.” – Medina Williamson

After graduating from Manchester University with a degree in Events Management in 2010, Kay moved to London and worked in some of the most prestigious venues that the capital has to offer.

For the last 8 years, Kay has worked as the Commercial Sales Manager at the House of Commons, launching the Houses of Parliament to the commercial market as an event venue for both corporate and private events.

One of the first marketing initiatives Kay introduced was membership to the WVC. Through the membership, Kay was able to reflect a positive return on investment and has remained a member since January 2015.

Having been on the board of the Westminster Venue Collection as Finance Chair for over six years, Kay’s passion for the collaborative work of the collection continues to grow.

Rhiannon graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2008 and moved back to London to enjoy 15 years of fantastic experience in the events industry.

First employed as a Group Sales and Events Executive at Bateaux London, Rhiannon has moved through roles representing iconic, unique and heritage Central London venues. Whilst working with Sodexo Prestige, Rhiannon moved into a Business Development role, honing her skills in building relationships and retaining key clients across the business.

In January 2017, Rhiannon joined Central Hall Westminster as Business Development Manager; from there, she lent her experience to become a Business Development Manager and then Head of Sales for Central Hall Venues. Here, she headed up the commercial expansion to onboard two further venues in Edinburgh and York and build an attractive venue portfolio.

Since becoming Head of Sales for Central Hall Venues, she has contributed tremendously to the growth and quality of each venue. In selling three heritage venues, Rhiannon delivers experience in concerts, graduations, conference, meeting and unique events and hospitality, as well as knowledge across a variety of market sectors.

Rhiannon has continued to nurture a love for the events industry and whilst managing a sales team, can also be found at international exhibitions, UK regional events, showcases and busy client networking.

With her experience in collaboration, Rhiannon joined the Westminster Venue Collection Board in August 2022, working alongside board members to strengthen Westminster as the greatest events destination.

Marina, originally from Greece, has an extensive experience of 22 years in the events industry.

Her journey started as a tv and movie producer, followed by a fast transition into corporate events.

Marina has worked with the biggest DMC’S event agents and hotel chains as an Event and Sales Manager, delivering lots of corporate, incentive and charity events.

In 2016, Marina moved to London and for the last  3 ½ years has worked as Head of Business Development at Church House, a Grade II listed, multi-purpose event venue, located in the heart of Westminster.

You will most likely find her representing Church House & Westminster Venue Collection on networking events, showcases and exhibitions.

Marina is a huge supporter of networking, interaction and partnerships and sees the Westminster Venue Collection as a great opportunity for both event professionals and venues to share experiences and work closer together.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Christine has over a decade of experience of London venues. Christine came to the UK in 2011 to pursue her Master’s of Fine Arts degree and soon fell into the event’s industry where she has built a career specialising in developing unique historic venues to maximise their earning potential.

Christine has worked at many iconic venues including the National Theatre, the Tower of London and now One Birdcage Walk, where she has led the venue business for the last six years. She loves finding opportunities for new growth, a skill which she plans to bring to the Westminster Venue Collection.

Stephan and his husband, Fashion Photographer Carlos Lumiere founded Lumiere London in 2007, originally starting as Carlos’ photographic studio in the illustrious Menier Chocolate Factory in London Bridge and over time expanded into an event space used for filming, photography and corporate events.

As the client base grew, so did Lumiere London, now with ten venues in 4 different locations, including Hyde Park Corner, Waterloo & London Bridge, Old Street and Liverpool Street. Clients include all major accountancy firms, insurance companies, national and international banks, fashion & beauty, film & TV media and many more.

At Lumiere London, Stephan is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, finances and legal.

Prior to this, Stephan has worked for an extensive number of broadcasters, production companies, distributors, branding agencies and media consultancies, in the UK, the US, Germany and Luxembourg. Previous employers include BBC Drama, CLT-UFA International, Company Pictures, Concorde Filmverleih, Headline Pictures, MediaXchange, PRO7 Media and the RTL Group.

Stephan’s first feature film, QUARTET, was directed by Dustin Hoffmann, starring Dame Maggie Smith, Sir Tom Courtney, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins and Sheridan Smith, and premiered in the UK during the London Film Festival in October 2012. His second feature film, INVISIBLE WOMAN directed by Ralph Fiennes, starring Ralph Fiennes as Charles Dickens, Felicity Jones and Kristin Scott Thomas, was nominated for an Oscar at the 2014 Academy Awards.

Currently, Stephan is part of the HM Government’s HELP TO GROW: Management Course at King’s College London.

Rafael is a seasoned professional in the hospitality and events industry, bringing more than three decades of expertise in orchestrating high-impact events and enhancing service excellence.

His journey began with an HND in Hotel and Catering Management, laying a strong foundation in hospitality administration and management. With an early drive to pursue excellence in events, Raf later deepened his expertise by earning a Master’s Degree in Events Management. He joined the Greenwich Mentoring Scheme, guiding BA students and sharing insights from his extensive career in events. This passion for education has continued as he’s gone on to lecture at Regent’s University London on the BA in International Events Management and MA in Luxury Brand Management.

Raf’s professional journey has been impactful, marked by a successful tenure as Director of Picazzo Events Ltd – his own event management company in London, leading end-to-end event solutions and consulting services for private and corporate clients.

He has dedicated 15 years to Regent’s University London, where he has been instrumental in driving growth as External Events Manager, and now Head of Events for Regent’s Events. Raf’s strategic insights and commitment to excellence resulted in over 10% annual sales growth for four consecutive years, helping the department achieve a £3 million turnover.

As a member of the WVC board, Raf brings a unique blend of industry expertise and a fervent commitment to education. With a career dedicated to elevating standards in hospitality and events, Raf is eager to support WVC’s mission of collaborative excellence, sharing his insights and helping to build a culture of continuous learning and professional growth.