Curnock Cook to leave BII

Mary Curnock Cook, director of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), is stepping down at the end of August.

After seven years at the helm, she will leave the Institute to undertake a year's course leading to a masters degree at the London Business School.

During her time at the BII, membership has risen 60 per cent and in 1998 she was presented with the award for outstanding services to the industry at The Publican Awards. Last year she was also awarded an OBE for her work at the BII, a reflection of her increasingly high-profile role within the trade.

Ms Curnock Cook told thePublican.com she was sad to leave the Institute but was looking forward to the new challenge. She did not rule out returning to the industry after completing her course.

"I shall miss the Institute and the fantastic team there," she said.

Institute chairman Richard Pearson said he would now be actively seeking a new chief executive. He added: "Mary's achievement over the last seven years has been immense and I, the Institute and the industry will miss her very much. However, given the standing of the Institute I am confident we will attract a candidate of the highest quality."

Ms Curnock Cook is the third major BII figure to leave the Institute in the last month, following the announcement that deputy director John Walker and the head of the BII's careers initiative Leisure Careers UK, Maureen Heffernan, had also departed.