Laura started at Marwell Wildlife in March 2024 as Chief Executive.

Laura is responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation, ensuring Marwell achieves its charitable aims of conserving biodiversity and helping to promote harmony between people and nature, whilst simultaneously providing a fulfilling and well-loved guest experience at our 145-acre zoo in Hampshire. She also makes sure Marwell Wildlife is a great place to work for our 200 plus employees.

Prior to Marwell, Laura was the Destination Director of Westquay Shopping Centre in Southampton where she spent four years. During this time, she oversaw the repositioning of Westquay post pandemic, established an exciting and dynamic programme of cultural events and activities within the public space, realised many new brand openings and even brought a 170-million-year-old dinosaur fossil to the centre of Southampton!

Laura was also heavily involved in Southampton’s bid for City of Culture 2025 as a member of the 2025 Board of Trustees. She has subsequently gone on to become Chair of the Board of Trustees for Southampton Forward, the city’s cultural trust, a charity which has a remit over cultural activation, festivals and events and tourism.

Other voluntary roles include sitting on the Solent University Business Advisory Board and University of Southampton School of Biological Sciences External Advisory Board. She is also a board member of the Hampshire Prosperity Partnership Board which works to improve economic growth and prosperity in the Central South.

Previously, Laura spent many years in management roles at a variety of hospitality brands, from coffee shops to local community pubs, large high-street late-night businesses and high volume restaurants.

Although much of her career has been in corporate environments, the move to Marwell has taken her back to her roots in science and conservation, having graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Biological Sciences in 2004. In her spare time, Laura loves to travel with her husband and three children.

‘Will is the Visitor Operations Manager at Hever Castle & Gardens and has over 15 years’ experience working in Visitor Experience. He has always been passionate about putting the visitor at the centre of everything — ensuring operational excellence while delivering outstanding value and memorable experiences and ensuring commercial sustainability.

Before joining Hever Castle, Will has worked for multiple cultural and heritage venues such as Royal Ballet and Opera and The Design Museum, working within Volunteer Management and Visitor Experience. During this time, he developed a strong focus on front-of-house leadership, volunteer engagement, and creating positive, memorable experiences for every visitor.

Will cares deeply about building teams that deliver warm, efficient service and about shaping operations in a way that always keeps the visitor experience front of mind.’

Sandra Lynes Timbrell

Sandra Lynes Timbrell has worked in the cultural sector for over 25 years, holding senior roles at some of the UK’s most recognisable organisations, including Shakespeare’s Globe, Museum of London and English Heritage. She is Director of Visitor Engagement at St Paul’s Cathedral, where she leads six commercial operation departments responsible for delivering over £15m income per year.

Sandra is Chair of the Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury and a member of the Board of Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA). She is also a Governor of her son’s school in SW London. Sandra holds an MA in Heritage Management.