Fiona Eastwood

Fiona Eastwood started in sales and marketing as a Business Development Manager at the Imperial War Museum before she ventured into the BBC. Over the next 15 years, she rapidly progressed to a senior leadership level, spending time at BBC Radio 2, BBC America, BBC News, and BBC Four and Factual before stepping over to BBC Worldwide, taking on more commercial, strategic and brand-driven global roles.

Looking for her next challenge, Fiona joined Merlin Entertainments and rose to every challenge she faced, guiding their Midway and Resort Theme Parks businesses through difficult times, including the Alton Towers accident, London terror attacks, the global pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. She demonstrates an innate ability to stay calm and objective, taking informed decisions based on lessons learnt, market insight and real experiences.

One of the topics Fiona feels passionate about is the future of the UK Hospitality and Leisure sectors. After the global pandemic, businesses suffered immeasurable hardship, with many forced to close. Fiona is championing the cause to get more support from the government and speaking on panels about this topic to trigger actions and change.

In parallel, Fiona has a successful portfolio career and is an active member of many boards, and in 2023, she was appointed to UKHospitality (UKH) as a Non-Executive Director. Her integrity, honesty and natural curiosity, and enthusiasm for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) make her a valuable and authoritative voice. As a change agent, she champions business and cultural change, stimulating growth, operational excellence and organisational resilience.

Always looking to the future, Fiona is a skilled strategist who sets the strategic vision and roadmap to fuel sustainable growth and expansion worldwide. Her ability to improve performance, double EBITDA and boost revenues is unsurpassed, and she continues to lead the charge in Merlin Entertainments today, optimising the guest experience and achieving record Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and employee satisfaction.

With boundless talents, Fiona has built multinational omnichannel brands that have recorded a four-fold increase in revenue, and she explores brand expansions into live events, gaming and other channels. She is a true asset to every organisation she joins and always makes a difference.