The Datebook Autumn 2015 | Page 31

The Westminster Collection enue marketing group The Westminster Collection (TWC) has appointed four new Directors to its Board and appointed a Chairman as part of a restructure of roles. V Clare Arouche, Head of Business Development at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, Diane Waldron, Sales and Marketing Director at QEII Centre, Amanda Sutton, Venue Manager at Broadway House and Paul Martins, Director of Sales at Cavendish Venues, step up to the Board as Directors. Robin Parker, General Manager of Church House Conference Centre, has accepted the role of Chairman to manage and provide leadership to the Board. Robin has served on TWC’s Board for four years. Speaking of his new role Robin said, “I’m looking forward to helping ensure a successful future for the collection and for our member venues. I’ve always believed in the value of TWC for generating sales enquiries for venues and also for creating a network of passionate events people who like to share ideas, contacts and potential business. “ Robin Parker. To find out more about The Westminster Collection’s venues Visit: www.venues-london.co.uk The Concerto Group he Concerto Group has appointed David Gilbertson as Non-Executive Chairman and Group Board member. David joins with vast experience in leading and chairing mid-sized private businesses as well as larger groups. He brings career-long sector expertise in events and publishing. David started out in business journalism before moving into executive management where he led media organisations such as Informa Plc, Emap Ltd and Lloyd’s of London Press Ltd. T David Gilbertson. Concerto Group Chief Executive Teresa-Anne Dunleavy said, “We are delighted to be bringing David’s expertise into the business. He brings deep experience of chairing boards and guiding companies with a strong emphasis on value creation and is well placed to support our ambitious plans for the business.” To find out more about The Concerto Group Visit: www.concertogroup.co.uk Ever Wondered Why Pencils (and the Datebook) are Always Yellow? encils have been painted yellow ever since the late 19th Century, with good reason! During this era, the best graphite in the world came from China. American pencil makers wanted their customers to know that their pencils contained Chinese graphite, so they painted them yellow. P Chinese culture associated the colour yellow with royalty and respect. Thus American manufacturers chose the bright yellow to communicate this “regal” feeling and link with China. The rest, as they say, is history. The Datebook began as a reference for charities to check which dates were free from fundraising events. We chose an eye-catching, bright colour to freshen up the publication – and because we were a ‘calendar of events’ bright yellow was the natural choice. The hue was inspired by the bright yellow pencils people historically would have used to write appointments in their datebooks. In those days there were no iPads, laptops or mobile phones with diaries – everyone had a datebook, and everyone had a yellow pencil. The legend of the yellow pencil inspired much more than just the pencils, however. It’s also the origin of the Datebook yellow. Visit The London & UK DatebooK on www.thedatebook.co.uk THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK 29