Club Liverpool, the city region’s ambassador programme, has appointed a new Chair, Howard Lewis, General Manager of Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village.
Club Liverpool is a powerful network of influential ambassadors passionate about bringing world class conferences and events to Liverpool and showcasing the very best the city has to offer to associations and organisations across the globe.
Following 18 months at the helm, Karen Brady from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has stepped down, leaving behind an impressive legacy. Under her stewardship, the programme grew from 240 to 300 members and during 2022 welcomed the most ambassador-led conferences to the city ever with a total economic value of over £6m.
Howard is a successful, experienced Hotel General Manager with over 30 years’ experience and an excellent record of achievement in the UK hospitality sector. Specialising in large residential conference and event properties he is no stranger to understanding the power of conferences and business events to the local economy.
In January 2022 Howard took on the project to open the new Novotel Paddington Village, a 221-bedroom hotel in Liverpool. Paddington Village is part of Liverpool City Council’s £1bn flagship investment as part of the vision for the region to become an international destination of significance for life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries.
Howard also sits on the board of Liverpool Hospitality Association and the new Accommodation BID board in Liverpool. He was also part of the strategic stakeholder group planning the visitor experience for Eurovision in Liverpool in 2023.
On the new role, Howard said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Chair of Club Liverpool. Conferences and business events are a vital part of our economic and inward investment strategy. As well as shining a light on the amazing research and work being undertaken in our universities and hospitals, they bring the world to see everything Liverpool City Region has to offer.”
Jane Fawley, Club Liverpool Programme Manager, said: “Howard takes up the role of Chair following a bumper year for Club Liverpool in terms of events held here. We were also placed at 118 in the world in the annual ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) rankings which is based on the number of in-person conferences taking place. This is the highest ranking Liverpool has achieved since 2008 when ACC Liverpool opened.
“It is vital we keep up the momentum and attract more events for 2024 and beyond, we are currently bidding up to and including 2030!”
As such, the network is urging people to bid for more events that could come to the city and spread the word about Club Liverpool and the free support the team can offer.
Club Liverpool supports ambassadors to bring events and conferences to venues across the region including the city’s largest convention centre ACC Liverpool.
ACC Liverpool has already hosted two large ambassador-led conferences in 2023, the European Calcified Tissues Society (ECTS) Annual Congress and the International Congress of the European Society of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology (ESPO).
Its 300 members are primarily in medical science and education, with half of all ambassadors coming from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University and a significant number from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
However, the team is particularly keen to grow in other sectors, such as clean growth, advanced manufacturing, digital and creative.