John Carson, managing director of training and meeting venue, Ashorne Hill and previous chair of Venues of Excellence has retired.

The industry veteran boasts an 18-year career which started in the Royal Navy and lead to managing the transformation of Ashorne Hill’s business model from in-house training centre to an award-winning venue.

The AEO has announced its Talent Working Group will be launching a free online training programme for sales, marketing and ops professionals within its membership.

The Meetings Industry Association (mia) held its high-impact Connect Sales HIIT training event recently, attracting 85 business development managers, sales managers and directors representing a wide range of venues, hotels and directories.