Meet in Wales has confirmed the arrival of more ambassadors to its growing programme, aimed at building relationships with industry to support business events in the destination.
The Ambassador Wales Conference Programme mirrors Wales’ wider strategy of working with specific sectors that underline its own industrial strengths.
About the programme
The new ambassadors represent sectors such as life sciences, environment, renewable energies, sustainability and wider scientific expertise in astronomy. Their involvement was confirmed through nominations put forward from a working group that included Cardiff University, University of South Wales, and ICC Wales.
Other partners in the group represent parts of the business events community in Wales and include Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Swansea University, Venue Cymru and Meet in Cardiff.
The ambassadors include:
• Dr Lee Parry, research fellow and lecturer, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University
• Wolfgang Maier, professor of Earth Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University
• Dr Tim Davis, senior lecturer, Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology, Cardiff University
• Cheryl Allsop, course leader and senior lecturer, BSc Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Wales
• Professor Stephen Eales, co-director, Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology, Cardiff University
• Dr Matt Turner FRCA, consultant anaesthetist, Royal Gwent and Grange University Hospitals
• Professor Augustin Valera-Medina, director, Net Zero Innovation Institute, Cardiff University
Event impact
Heledd Williams, head of business events, Meet In Wales, said: “The Ambassador Wales Conference Programme has taken the collective expertise of ambassador-led marketing channels and applied them to a country-wide scheme
“Traditional ambassador programmes are more often led at city level, and we were mindful of schemes running in parallel. However, our Working Group gathered representatives from across the meetings and events community, CVBs, venues, universities, and other networks, making among the first national programmes. Ambassador Wales doesn’t compete with city schemes, it amplifies them.”
The programme has seen early success with the announcement of the WorldChefs Congress and Expo 2026, coming to ICC Wales following a bid partnership with Arwyn Watkins. Professor Christian Kaunert was also involved in securing the Euro Sims conference to ICC Wales and USW in January 2023.
Jennifer Jenkins from congress organiser Worldspan, who were integral in setting up the programme, added: “Executing a national ambassador strategy for Wales has been really rewarding, and genuinely ground-breaking. We’ve approached it from a different angle, as a national strategy, and are delighted that it is already delivering for our industry across the destination.”
