Advisory Group

Amanda Cottrell OBE, Patron, Visit Kent

Amanda was educated in this country and in Europe, followed by the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. Her early career was as an artist, working for Walt Disney briefly in California! She married in 1967 and moved to Challock in Kent. During the next twenty years, as well as working as an artist and farming, she brought up her four children. Amanda was widowed in 1996, and now has ten grandchildren. She was made High Sheriff of Kent in 2006 and was awarded the OBE for services to Kent in 2011. Amanda was a magistrate for 23 years, as well as Chairman of her Parish Council. She holds an Honorary Fellowship of Canterbury Christ Church University and an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from the University of Kent. She also served for three years as a Director of VisitEngland.

Patron of Visit Kent, Amanda Cottrell is a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, a Kent Ambassador as well as a Trustee of Canterbury Cathedral and the Godinton House Preservation Trust. She is Chairman of both the Diocese of Canterbury Communities and Partnerships Framework and the Churches Working Together Partnership. Amanda is Patron of Produced in Kent and the Caldecott Foundation, co-Patron of the Strode Park Foundation and of the Maidstone Museum as well as the Director of a small bus company which serves the rural areas of Kent. She is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, and a Freeman of the City of London and the City of Canterbury. She is also Patron of the Ellenor Foundation and a Medway Champion.

Amanda has worked closely over many years with the rural and agricultural sector in Kent, and this remains extremely important to her.

Deirdre Wells OBE,

Deirdre Wells OBE was appointed Chair of the Visit Kent Advisory Group in 2025.

Prior to her appointment to Visit Kent, 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.

Adam Bryan, Director of Place, Medway Council

Adam joined Medway Council on 14 August 2023, becoming the Director of Place, having been the Chief Executive at the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, overseeing significant regeneration projects across the region. Adam has previous experience working in regional development and in Local Government, having held a number of roles at Essex County Council, including the Head of Place Partnership Integration.

Adam studied a degree in German at University of Nottingham, has a Masters in Management from the Nottingham Business School and is a committed Nottingham Forest fan. Adam also enjoys cricket and exploring the UK on family holidays with their dog.

As Director of Place, Adam Bryan has responsibility for Frontline Services, Culture and Community and Regeneration.

The Directorate’s aim is to establish Medway as a great place to live, to work, to learn and to visit, drawing on our rich heritage to deliver a great future for Medway.​​​​​​ Adam is a Board Member for Locate in Kent, Visit Kent, Kent Chamber of Commerce and Medway Place Board.

Nadeem Aziz, Chief Executive Officer, Dover District Council

Nadeem Aziz is the Chief Executive of Dover District Council. He attended Woolverstone Hall School in Suffolk before studying Civil Engineering at the City University London.  He is a Chartered Civil Engineer with a Masters in Business Administration from the City University Business School.

Local Government roles at both Lewisham and Tower Hamlets Borough Councils in the 1980’s and 90’s ensured that Nadeem developed a real understanding of community engagement and the need for regeneration in areas of deprivation and exclusion.  He is committed to the delivery of value for money services through innovation and putting the customer first.

He has been the Council’s Chief Executive for over almost 20 years taking up the post in April 2002.  Prior to this he was the Council's Director of Planning and Technical Services for two years.

A commitment to partnership working with both community and business interests is evidenced by Board memberships of various multi agency partnerships.

He is committed to ensuring the Council continues to deliver excellent services that provide value for money.  He is also determined that the prosperity of the District will be transformed by the delivery of a range of regeneration projects in the District.

Outside the office Nadeem has a wide range of interests, with a particular passion for sailing.  He is a qualified skipper and is working towards his Yacht master exams.

Stephen Russell, Founder and Managing Director, Copper Rivet Distillery

Stephen started Copper Rivet Distillery in 2016 with his father, brother and Head Distiller Abhishek Banik.

One of just a couple of multidisciplinary, farm to glass distilleries in the UK, their mission is to make whisky, gin and vodka so good that it puts their hometown, Chatham, and Kent on the map as global centre of excellence for distilling – with several awards and growing industry and consumer recognition, they are well on their way. In 2021 they added The Pumproom Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, making Copper Rivet one of the UK’s only distilleries to house a casual fine dining restaurant. Today they welcome c. 20,000 visitors to tour the distillery, enjoy cocktail masterclasses, whisky blending classes and to relax in the restaurant.

Prior to starting Copper Rivet Distillery, Stephen spent 20 years in global banking for firms including UBS and HSBC. During his career he worked in the UK, across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia and developed corporate strategy, executed and integrated acquisitions, designed investment products, implemented corporate governance frameworks and ran sales and marketing functions.

Stephen holds a MSc in Quantitative Economics from the University of Bristol and is a Kent Ambassador, Member of the Employment Advisory Board for HM Prison Elmley, Member of the Finance & Investment Committee for The Worshipful Company of Distillers & Distillers Charity and he is a founder and Board Member of The English Whisky Guild. 

William Benson, Chief Executive, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

William has been Chief Executive at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council since 2010. Before that, he held a number of senior roles in local government with a particular emphasis on performance, transformation and customer care. William’s original background is in international development and he worked for the International Development Select Committee in the House of Commons leading on a range of inquiries and reports.

William sits on a number of national boards and committees that shape and influence national policy towards local government and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.