Diane Waldron, director of sales and marketing at The QEII Centre, has been appointed chair of leading consortium Westminster Venue Collection.

An active board member of WVC since 2015, Waldron takes over the position of chair from Clare Arouche, former head of business development at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, who has now joined Royal Museums Greenwich as head of sales and events.

Extremely well-suited to the role of chair, Waldron brings a wealth of hospitality and events experience to the position having held previous roles at the Honourable Artillery Company, Natural History Museum, Searcy’s at the Barbican and at the Tower Thistle Hotel.

On her appointment, Waldron said: “Clare has been a truly fantastic chair for WVC and has guided the collection through our full rebrand, including the launch of our intuitive new website, over the last 12 months.

“Having been on the board for two years, I have seen the positive changes made under Clare’s leadership and am looking forward to continuing this, and developing new initiatives, in the months to come.”

The next big event in the collection’s calendar will be Square Meal Venues & Events Live at Old Billingsgate in September.

Taking a stand at the show, which brings together 250 of the UK’s best venues, is one of Waldron’s key new initiatives which will offer both valuable exposure for the membership and increased visibility for the new name and branding.