Our Board

Doug Bannister
Director

Appointed in January 2019, Doug is the CEO of the Port of Dover, the busiest port in Europe.  Prior to joining the Port of Dover, Doug was Group CEO for Ports of Jersey. In addition to Ports of Jersey, Doug has had over 25 years’ experience in leading international businesses.  This experience included Managing Director of Maersk Line UK, as well as various executive roles managing shipping businesses in North America, Europe, Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. Doug is skilled at turnaround, restructuring and transformation of capital intensive transportation businesses.

He holds an MBA in International Marketing (Seton Hall University, New Jersey 1997) and a B.A in Economics (St Lawrence University, New York 1988).  In 2016 Doug was awarded the Institute of Directors Jersey Director of the Year for large businesses.

Born in Summit, New Jersey, USA, Doug holds dual British and American citizenship. 

Deirdre Wells OBE
Chief Executive Officer

Deirdre Wells OBE was appointed as CEO of Go To Places in September 2018 and is also CEO of Visit Kent, the official Destination Management Organisation of Kent. 

Prior to her appointment, Deirdre was Chief Executive of UKinbound, representing nearly 400 UK inbound tourism businesses. During her tenure at UKinbound, Deirdre was a passionate advocate on behalf of the industry on a broad range of issues including the impact of BREXIT,  Visas, Air Passenger Duty and skills.  

Deirdre joined UKinbound following 20 years in Government at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport working on a variety of high-profile projects including the Millennium Dome, Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 and the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Deirdre was awarded an OBE in 2007 in recognition of her work in leading the team behind the national memorial services for the UK victims of the 9/11 attacks, the Bali bombings, the 2004 Asian Tsunami and the London 7/7 attacks.

Appointed the Government’s Head of Tourism in 2010, Deirdre was instrumental in the delivery of the GREAT campaign – an ambitious and far-reaching marketing campaign aimed to help the world discover why Britain is such a great place to visit, study, work, invest, and do business.

Richard Morsley, Chief Executive, Historic Dockyard Chatham

Richard is Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and has worked at The Historic Dockyard Chatham since September 2019.  The Dockyard is a large and complex mixed-use heritage site and Richard has responsibility for ensuring the effective balance of uses.  Today the Historic Dockyard is a vibrant community, with up to 1000 people working on site, 800 full and part time students, 400 residents and up to 180,000 visitors per annum.

Richard has 15 years experience working within the cultural sector.  Richard was formerly Director at Betteshanger Parks and Deputy Director at Turner Contemporary. He is also a Trustee of Open School East, Margate and a member of Medway Place Board.