Mark Jones has been appointed Managing Director of Wyboston Lakes Venues, theUK's largest privately owned single site specialist conference and training centre.  He takes up his position on Monday 25 July.

For the last six years Mark has been Group General Manager of Whittlebury Hall Management Training Centre, Hotel and Spa and Scalford Hall Hotel in Melton Mowbray.  During this period, Whittlebury Hall has twice been awarded Best Large Hotel in the EastMidlandsand in 2011 won the Judges Award for Innovation in the Conde Nast Johansens Most Excellent MICE Awards. In 2010 Scalford Hall was awarded the Conde Nast Johansens Most Excellent Dedicated Venue.

This year Wyboston Lakes Venues celebrates its 21^st year of operation. It has established a leading national and international position as a provider of specialist facilities for the full spectrum of residential and non-residential events. The company has built a large and diverse portfolio of customers in the UK and increasingly from overseas, ranging from FTSE Top 250 companies and government departments to SMEs, charities, associations and not-for-profit organisations.  Since it opened, more than £35 million has been spent in developing the site as an award-winning provider for both day and residential events.

"The high quality management training and conference market is a specialised field and, having spent the last six years heading up one privately owned first class and award-winning operation in this market, I am particularly pleased to be joining another highly regarded, award-winning and forward thinking team," commented Mark: "To represent the three excellent venues that Wyboston Lakes offers as Managing Director is a real personal prize and with owners that continue to be committed to growth and development, the future is very positive indeed."

Mark began his career in 1974 as a graduate trainee for British Transport Hotels, taking up his first GM role in 1981 at the age of 25.  In 1983 he moved to Zimbabwe with his family and became General Manager of the historic Victoria Falls Hotel.  For the next 15 years he held a number of roles in Africa, joining Lonrho Hotels in1988 in East Africa as Group Operations Director based in Nairobi, where his responsibilities included two five star Leading Hotels of the World - the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi and the Mount Kenya Safari Club. In 1994 he moved to Tanzania as Project Manager and General Manager for Mashado a new-build luxury, deep sea game fishing lodge and Director for Mashado Luxury Tented Safaris in the Serengeti.

The lush green environment to which he had become accustomed continued to be reflected in his subsequent career. In 1997 Mark and his family returned to the UK when he was appointed UK Operations Director of Center Parcs.  When Center Parcs was sold in 2001, he became Director of Operations of the Eden Project.

Mark Jones takes over as Managing Director of Wyboston Lakes Venues from Nigel Hollis, who moves to non-executive Deputy Chairman with the company's venues business and will lead its property division as Managing Director.

Notes for editors

Wyboston Lakes Venues is centrally located on a350 acrerural estate between Cambridge and Bedford, close to the A1, M1 and recently dualled A421 road networks and local railway links. Uniquely on a single site, it has three distinct conference and training centres, offering a complete spectrum of options in terms of facility, space, style and budget:

Robinson Executive Conference Centre
Conference Suites at Wyboston Lakes Hotel
Willows Training Centre

The site has a total of 403 bedrooms and more than 70 conference, meeting and syndicate rooms, the largest of which has a capacity to seat 270 delegates theatre style.  On-site leisure facilities are comprehensive, and include an AA Rosette Restaurant, an 18 hole golf course, a full sports and leisure centre, and watersports facilities.

The Wyboston Lakes Conference and Training department email sales@wybostonlakes.co.uk.

www.wybostonlakes.co.uk