Our Patron

Bob Cotton OBE
After taking a degree in hotel and catering administration at Surrey University, Bob Cotton went on to hold several operational catering management positions with British Leyland, Chrysler and Inchcape. He then joined Gardner Merchant in 1975 as a District Manager. Following a period in operational management, he moved to look after public relations and communications for the company through its management buyout from Forte and subsequent sale to Sodexo. He was then appointed Tourism Adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 1998. Following 18 months at DCMS, he was appointed Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association (now Hospitality UK) in January 2000. He retired from the BHA in 2010 and since then he has acted as an independent consultant to the hospitality industry.

“I am absolutely delighted to be the first Patron of Experience Oxfordshire and get behind this new initiative. Oxfordshire is a world-class destination and the work of the DMO is critical to its success in destination management. The public and private sectors across Oxfordshire should collaborate on driving sustainable growth in the visitor economy and I will do all I can to help influence this. I urge all businesses across Oxfordshire to join Experience Oxfordshire”.