Governance

Matthew was Operations Director at City Cruises plc and was responsible for a fleet of 27 class V vessels in London, York & Poole alongside 13 self-drive hire vessels and 110 operational staff in London alone. Matthew is now pursuing an independent portfolio career.

Matthew is the Chairman of the Passenger Boat Association and City Cruises is one of the founding members of the Association.

At age 21, Matthew became a Captain qualified to master Large Passenger Vessels and an instructor for, and the Principle of, City Training Group delivering first-aid, power boating and safety management courses to the industry. Mathew also chairs our remuneration committee (sub committee of the Board).

Carl is the Managing Director of ABC Leisure Group Limited, which owns and operates 17 inland waterway marinas across the UK with 200 self-drive self-catering holiday narrowboats for hire, around 1,000 private moorings, a narrowboat builder and repairer, chandler, and a boat management operation, with caravan sites and holiday cottages.

Prior to joining ABC Leisure Group as Finance Director in 2006 Carl worked in the finance functions of several multi-million-pound turnover international organisations. He recently completed a four-year term as an elected business boating representative on the Canal and Rivers trust council.

He has a degree in Economics from Birmingham City University and is a Chartered Management Accountant.

Robert is Managing Director of Church Minshull Marina Ltd, a purpose-built inland marina.

Roberts sits on the British Marine Midland Association Committee (Chairman 2017-19) and is involved with British Marine and The Yacht Harbour Association as part of a Canals and River trust working group and is a member of The Yacht Harbour Association Council.

Lyndsay is the Commercial Manager for Marine Industry News. As an experienced marketing professional with over nine years’ experience in communication, digital marketing and content strategy. Lyndsay is passionate about supporting the people working within the marine industry, she is the Chairperson for British Marine South and sits on several industry working groups.

Lyndsay Graduated from Southampton Solent University with a BSc in Criminal Psychology in 2011 and last year completed a MA in English Literature. Always looking for learning opportunities and ways to add to her skill set, Lyndsay is currently undertaking an online course in crisis management.

Lesley was appointed CEO of British Marine in mid-2018. Prior to joining, Lesley was Managing Director at MDL Marinas, Europe’s leading Marina operator.

Previous to this, her commercial career has spanned leisure, consumer goods, media and IT and she was also a Director of the Money Advice Service, leading corporate services and heading up the Service’s debt advice programme in the UK. At British Marine, Lesley is an executive main board director with specific responsibility for the strategic direction of the organisation, working in conjunction with both board and members, and its execution through her team at Tagus House.

She is also Vice-Chair and Trustee of Ocean Youth Trust South and a Non-Executive Director of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives. Lesley is a qualified chartered accountant by background. Lesley was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021, appointed to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to the Leisure Marine Sector.

In her spare time, Lesley enjoys traveling with her husband (97 countries to date and counting). She also enjoys good food and wine, hill walking and the very occasional half marathon to burn off the resulting calories. Her current passion on the water is Stand-up Paddleboarding.

Earle joined British Marine at the beginning of 2020.  His previous career started in corporate finance working for the Danish Group ISS before moving into the Oil and Gas sector.  From there he successfully transitioned into the SME space with the marine engineering firm Burgess Marine where he oversaw high profile projects including two significant superyacht refits.

Earle is an executive main board member for British Marine and is responsible for the groups Finance, IT and Property departments and works closely with the Finance Audit and Risk committee.  He is a qualified accountant and holds an MBA in Strategic Leadership from Portsmouth University.

Outside of work, Earle is a keen tennis player and whilst living on the Isle of Wight enjoys being on, in or under the water at every opportunity.

Adrian is a governance specialist and commercial lawyer. He joined Princess Yachts in 2017 having acted for the organisation over the previous decade whilst in a national private practice law firm where he worked predominantly in the manufacturing, retail and energy sectors acting for major national and multinational Plc’s.

Adrian served as a Warfare Officer in the Royal Navy for 10 years and then retrained as a lawyer following 10 years' operational service in the Gulf, Caribbean, Australasia and the Mediterranean, as well as a stint as the skipper of a patrol boat.

Adrian graduated in Biochemistry from Cardiff University and subsequently obtained Post-Graduate Diplomas in Law and Legal Practice, he is also a graduate of the Governance Institute and a member of the Trading Standards Institute. Adrian sits on the Regional Council of the CBI, the Plymouth Growth Board and the Maritime Enterprise Working Group as part of the UK’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Lee is a lawyer and the Managing Director of Bartons Solicitors since November 2000 and has been responsible for every aspect of the practice, from IT to marketing and recruitment/retention and corporate and professional governance and regulation. Lee has been a director of British Marine (Southwest) Limited since its incorporation in 2004.

Ed is a Non-Executive Director, and previously Managing Director of ABC Leisure Group Ltd an award-winning inland waterways business that grew from 3 to 18 marinas, 20 bases with 200 canalboats for hire, a canal boat building operation, an online chandlery, a boat brokerage operation, 18 chandlery shops, a boat management business managing around 100 boats, 5 canalside camping & caravan sites and 6 holiday cottages, an award winning public house, and a licensed restaurant.

He is also a Director and company secretary of Latelink Ltd a marketing business for lastminute boating holidays.

He serves as a trustee of the H&G Canals Trust a restoration charity, and Director & Chairman of their income generating property company.

Ed was previously an advisor to various Visit Britain and Visit England tourism projects and on the advisory council of the Canal and Rivers Trust following its move from British Waterways to a charity.

CEO of Oyster Yachts Ltd, British builder of world’s finest luxury sailing boats. Previously Chairman since 2018. British Marine - Non-Executive director. Eden Project Ltd. Chairman, Non-Executive Director and Advisor since 2019.  

Previously CEO of UK’s largest regional newspaper group for 7 years, prior to that UK MD of Microsoft, and before that board director at the BBC, running BBC Online, their technology & R&D portfolio, and inventing and launching the BBC iPlayer. 

Over the years, have held a number of non-executive director roles including: Chairman of News Media Association, Chair of Environmental, Social, Governance Committee at William Hill plc, Non-exec Director British Film Institute, and Chairman of Way Ahead Group (now See Tickets). Earlier in career was a management consultant with PwC, and a Chartered Engineer. 

Martin is Senior Partner at Blue Sea Consulting LLP who operate a successful marina/ waterfront, leisure and regeneration consultancy business. Blue Sea Consulting LLP works closely with Government agencies and can assist clients in approaching government agencies on specialist marine leisure projects.

Martin is Joint Chairman of British Marine Scotland and co-author of the Giant Strides, the second Marine Tourism Strategy for Scotland.

Paul has been a Committee member on the MTA for 10 years and is the current Chair and BM Board member.  He has worked in the Marine sector for over 30 years and is passionate about the Marine Industry.

He is currently Associate Director for First Peninsula Marine, specialising in the sale and purchase of Marine companies and also offers specialist consultancy services.

Paul is the Head of Marketing for Haven Knox-Johnston and current chair of British Marine’s Professional Services Association. Born into the marine industry, it has remained in his DNA for over 50 years. His career has spanned a broad spectrum, encompassing boat sales, yacht charters, marine finance and most recently insurance, where he has been instrumental in bringing back the well-respected Haven Knox-Johnston name.

He is also passionate about supporting young talent and championing the next generation to work within the marine community. With an all-round love of being out on the water, Paul regularly participates in yacht racing as well as taking advantage of every opportunity to get out on the inland waterways.

Miles is Head of Marketing at Fairline Yachts Ltd and has worked in the leisure marine sector for 16 years, primarily at Fairline, with a brief period at Sunseeker, overseeing global marketing initiatives. His early background is 100% automotive, having held positions at Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group in the UK. Prior to that, he worked in the dynamic advertising world of 1990s London, at renowned agencies Grey and Ogilvy & Mather.

Miles brings a wealth of skills and experience to the table, specialising in marketing communications, event and exhibition management, public relations, customer relationship management, and product management.

Luke is the CEO/Managing Director of Rooster Sailing LTD, an international company specialising in the design, manufacture, and distribution of technical sailing apparel and accessories. His career spans both the commercial and voluntary sectors. He began in the medical surgical device industry but soon transitioned to the marine industry, joining Rooster to focus on business development and growth. In his current role, he has guided the company through challenging times, maintaining stability, and driving new growth.

A lifelong dinghy sailor, Luke enjoys sailing with his wife Kate, mostly in small boats, and cruising along the south coast on their larger boat. He has served as a Club Commodore and Trustee at Hill Head Sailing Club and has been honoured with an RYA Community Award for his contributions to the sailing community. In 2022, he was also recognised as Boating Business Young Businessperson of the Year.

Malcolm is head of Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial Insurance Brokers and has been assistant Chair of the Professional Services committee for the last three years and a member of the committee for the previous three years.  He is well known for championing young people into the marine industry through work with the MTA awards, Seawork exhibition and internally within the HKJ parent company.  A lifelong competitive sailor, Malcolm brings in a different perspective to the board by seeing the Marine industry as a user of it as well as a supplier to it.