Penelope, Viscountess Cobham CBE
Director General
Lady Cobham took up the appointment of Director General of The 5% Club in spring 2017 having completed 8 years as Chairman of VisitEngland, the national tourist board.
For 20 years she opened to the public her Grade I Georgian home, Hagley Hall, and developed a flourishing functions business. She was executive chairman of the British Casino Association for 9 years, taking the industry through the passage of the 2005 Gambling Act. Until 2007 she was Chairman of Heart Radio in the Midlands and sat on the board of Heart London and for 6 years was then Deputy Chairman of Pagefield Communications. She has been an adviser to Ernst & Young, City Private Bank and Park Resorts and sat on the Linley Advisory Board.
In the public sector, inter alia, she has served on the boards of Historic Royal Palaces, the Victoria & Albert Museum, English Heritage, British Waterways and worked as a Special Adviser to the Culture Secretary. She currently sits on the board of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and chairs their Development Board. She chairs the Museum Prize Trust and sits on the board of the Historic Houses Association.
She was awarded a CBE in 2014 for services to Tourism.
For 20 years she opened to the public her Grade I Georgian home, Hagley Hall, and developed a flourishing functions business. She was executive chairman of the British Casino Association for 9 years, taking the industry through the passage of the 2005 Gambling Act. Until 2007 she was Chairman of Heart Radio in the Midlands and sat on the board of Heart London and for 6 years was then Deputy Chairman of Pagefield Communications. She has been an adviser to Ernst & Young, City Private Bank and Park Resorts and sat on the Linley Advisory Board.
In the public sector, inter alia, she has served on the boards of Historic Royal Palaces, the Victoria & Albert Museum, English Heritage, British Waterways and worked as a Special Adviser to the Culture Secretary. She currently sits on the board of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and chairs their Development Board. She chairs the Museum Prize Trust and sits on the board of the Historic Houses Association.
She was awarded a CBE in 2014 for services to Tourism.
Gill Cronin
Head of Campaigns & Development
Gill has extensive experience in working in the not-for-profit/charity/fourth sector having managed and developed commercially successful memberships in a wide range of industries.
She was Director of Marketing, Press and Business Information at the British Retail Consortium and more recently was Head of Patron Membership at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Additionally she headed up the membership and marketing divisions at the Fostering Network and the Booksellers Association.
Gill has also been a charity trustee for the charity Re-Solv and was Company Secretary for the charity World Book Day .
Having gained a BA from the University of London straight after leaving school, Gill was fortunate to be offered an ‘earn and learn’ opportunity to gain an MBA while working full time.
She was Director of Marketing, Press and Business Information at the British Retail Consortium and more recently was Head of Patron Membership at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Additionally she headed up the membership and marketing divisions at the Fostering Network and the Booksellers Association.
Gill has also been a charity trustee for the charity Re-Solv and was Company Secretary for the charity World Book Day .
Having gained a BA from the University of London straight after leaving school, Gill was fortunate to be offered an ‘earn and learn’ opportunity to gain an MBA while working full time.