Center Parcs has appointed three senior marketing leaders as it looks to “elevate” the brand and drive growth.

The hires – Sarah Vickery, Stuart O’Neill and Gillian Blair – complete the company’s newly established senior marketing leadership team. Each will take up a new role leading different capabilities, namely in the brand’s customer experience, creative and media planning.

Their appointments follow the arrival of Sara Holt in March as the organisation’s first CMO, joining from Merlin Entertainments UK and Europe.

Center Parcs’ Sara Holt on her ‘massive journey’ to become a CMO

Vickery joins as ecommerce and CX director. She previously served as VP of ecommerce and digital marketing at Merlin Entertainments, where her role was to improve online guest journeys through AI, consolidated platforms and integrated first-party data into paid media.

Prior to her time at Merlin, Vickery held a series of senior digital marketing roles at Selfridges, as well as a CRM manager role at Ticketmaster Entertainment.

Meanwhile, Blair will join Center Parcs in January as head of marketing planning in a new team that will bring together media planning, research and marketing insight.

She has over 15 years’ experience in media planning and joins from WPP media and Wavemaker where she currently heads up the planning team for Amazon.

O’Neill was hired in August to lead creative direction as executive creative director. He also arrived from Merlin Entertainments, where he spent nearly two years leading creative for Resort Theme Parks and Attractions and overseeing major product launches including Hyperia at Thorpe Park and Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers.

Earlier in his career, O’Neill worked at several creative agencies, including Adam & Eve, overseeing digital design and traditional campaigns. He also previously worked on the redesign of the Center Parcs website in 2007 while at a digital agency.

The new team joins at a time when Center Parcs is driving forward investment in its brand, digital capabilities and guest experience across its UK and Ireland villages.

“This is such an exciting and pivotal time for Center Parcs as we look to elevate our brand and drive significant growth,” says Holt.

“Their combined expertise and proven team leadership will be instrumental in shaping the future of our brand and ensuring we continue to connect meaningfully with our guests.”

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Earlier this year, Holt took over from former chief sales and marketing officer, Colin Whaley, who retired after 20 years. Whaley led a combined marketing and sales function. Now, the role has been split into a CMO role, held by Holt, and a chief commercial officer, held by Richard Sofer, former commercial and business development director at TUI UK and Ireland, who joined earlier this year.

Center Parcs operates five villages in the UK and one in Ireland; Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire, Whinfell Forest in Cumbria, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire and Longford Forest in Ireland.

In the 12 weeks to 17 July 2025, the business reported revenue of £146.8m, up from £135.6m in 2024.