Alistair Hardaker | Image: Lloyd Hughes COO in front of Concorde (Aerospace Bristol)
Former English Heritage and PDSA executive to lead visitor experience, finance, commerce and operations
Aerospace Bristol has appointed its first chief operating officer (COO), an appointment made as part of a ten-year strategy to double visitor numbers and grow its commercial operations.
Lloyd Hughes will take up the position after seven years at the British veterinary charity PDSA, where he served as director of PDSA Trading and head of retail and buying. Hughes is currently Chair at Aerospace Bristol, a voluntary role taken up in December 2023.
He previously served as head of retail and Holidays at English Heritage from 20212 to 2018.
The museum said Hughes will take responsibility for the day-to-day running of Aerospace Bristol’s Filton site, leading the museum’s visitor experience, finance, commercial, and operations functions.
Hughes said: “Aerospace Bristol is an extraordinary place – one that sits at the heart of a globally significant industry and tells stories about the wonders of flight to inspire people of all ages.
“I’m hugely excited to be joining at such a pivotal moment – there is enormous potential to grow both the commercial reach and resilience of the museum, and I’m looking forward to working with the brilliant team here to unlock it.”
Sally Cordwell, chief executive of Aerospace Bristol, added: “This is a landmark appointment for Aerospace Bristol. Lloyd brings exactly the blend of commercial sharpness and charity sector understanding that we need as we look to deliver on our ten-year growth strategy.
“Creating this COO role signals our intent – we are serious about being an organisation that is operationally excellent, commercially strong and well positioned to serve our visitors, our community and the story of flight for decades to come.
“We’re delighted to welcome Lloyd into our team.”
