Leisure Boss Mark Harper Joins Parkdean Resorts

MARK Harper has joined Newcastle-headquartered Parkdean Resorts as Chief Operating Officer to help lead the company that owns 73 holiday parks in the UK.

Mark has held a distinguished career in the leisure sector and was most recently Joint Managing Director of Haven, a member of the Bourne Leisure Group. He spent 16 years at Bourne Leisure, including previous roles as Operations Director and Head of Retail Operations.

Taking on the newly-formed role to support Parkdean Resorts Chief Executive John Waterworth and the leadership team, Mark is responsible for the operations team across the business, focusing on the entire customer experience and in particular the retail, food and bars functions.

Commenting on his appointment, Mark said: “I am delighted to join Parkdean Resorts at this exciting time, and am enjoying meeting the operations teams across the business. There is nothing better than a business which provides opportunities for owners and holidaymakers to enjoy a hassle-free holiday experience, and my role is to ensure we retain, recruit and lead fantastic people to deliver amazing holiday memories for our customers.”

Employing over 7,000 people, Parkdean Resorts is the largest holiday park operator in the UK with 73 parks stretching across the country. It was ranked 36^th in the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 this year as one of Britain’s top private mid-market growth companies.