Gary Verity | |
|---|---|
 Verity in 2014 | |
| Chief Executive Officer of Welcome to Yorkshire | |
| In office October 2008 –March 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gary Keith Verity July 1964 (age 59) Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Awards | Knight Bachelor (2015) National Order of Merit, France (2017) |
Sir Gary Keith Verity, DL (born July 1964) is a British businessman and sheep farmer. He was Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire from 2008 until he resigned in March 2019.
From October 2008 to March 2019, Verity was Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire. He led the successful campaign for the Grand Départ of the 2014 Tour de France to be held in Yorkshire. [1] [2]
On 22 March 2019, Verity resigned from his post with Welcome To Yorkshire citing health reasons. [3] He also admitted that he had "made errors of judgement regarding his expenses". [4] [5] He voluntarily offered to repay the incorrectly claimed expenses. [6] He was also accused of unacceptable behaviour and bullying, with the former head of communications Dee Marshall suggesting that he had "really hurt people". [6] Allegations were made concerning his behaviour in 2014 and 2016: he was issued with a final written warning and required to attend "behavioural management counselling". [7]
In July 2014, Verity was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York. [8] In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, it was announced that he had been appointed a Knight Bachelor "for services to Tourism and the Tour De France Grand Depart 2014". [9] In April 2017, he was made a Chevalier (knight) of the National Order of Merit by the President of France in recognition of his role in bringing the Grand Départ of the Tour de France to Yorkshire in 2014 and for creating its spiritual successor, the Tour de Yorkshire. [10]
In May 2018, Verity was made a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. [11]
In January 2022, it was reported that the Government’s Forfeiture Committee is considering stripping Verity of his knighthood. [12]
Verity was born and raised in Leeds, and attended Leeds Grammar School. [13] An affinity with the Yorkshire Dales led him to buying a sheep farm in Coverdale. He has an 18 year old daughter, Lily (born 2003) with his late wife, Helen. [14]
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.
Sir is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part of "Monsieur", with the equivalent "My Lord" in English. Traditionally, as governed by law and custom, Sir is used for men who are knights and belong to certain orders of chivalry, as well as later applied to baronets and other offices. As the female equivalent for knighthood is damehood, the suo jure female equivalent term is typically Dame. The wife of a knight or baronet tends to be addressed as Lady, although a few exceptions and interchanges of these uses exist.
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile was an English media personality and DJ. He hosted the BBC shows Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. During his lifetime, Savile was well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and charitable work. After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he had been a predatory sex offender and possibly one of Britain's most prolific. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or were disbelieved.
Sir Gregory Knight is a British politician, author and musician. He has served as the Conservative MP for East Yorkshire since 2001, having previously served as the MP for Derby North from 1983 to 1997. He served as a minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron.
Sir Gary Nicholas Streeter is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Since 1997 he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Devon, previously holding the nearby seat of Plymouth Sutton between 1992 and 1997. Since the convening of the Fifty-fifth Parliament, Streeter has been the longest currently serving MP representing a constituency in the county of Devon.
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. In May 2023, his net worth was estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to be £910 million.
Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to road cycling. He won world titles in four disciplines, and Olympic gold in three. He is the only rider to have won both World and Olympic championships on both the track and the road as well as winning the Tour de France. He has worn the leader's jersey in each of the three Grand Tours of cycling and held the world record in team pursuit on multiple occasions. He won a gold medal at four successive Olympic Games from 2004 to 2016, and held the record as Great Britain's most decorated Olympian with 8 medals until Jason Kenny won his 9th in 2021. He is the only rider to win both the Tour de France and Olympic Gold in the same year, winning them a week apart in 2012.
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37.
James Martin is a British chef and television presenter, best known for his television work with the BBC and ITV.
William James Robert Peel, 3rd Earl Peel,, styled Viscount Clanfield until 1969, is a British hereditary peer who was a Conservative peer from 15 May 1973 until October 2006 when, on his appointment as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, he became a crossbench (non-partisan) member of the House of Lords.
Sir David John Brailsford is a British cycling coach and performance director. He was formerly performance director of British Cycling and is currently team principal of UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers. He is currently working with French football club Nice and British football club Manchester United as part of his role as Director of Sport at Ineos.
Leeds in West Yorkshire, England is a tourist destination.
Marcel Kittel is a German former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the Team Giant–Alpecin, Quick-Step Floors and Team Katusha–Alpecin squads. As a junior, he specialised in time trials, even winning a bronze medal in the World Championships for cyclists aged under 23. When he became a professional in 2011, he specialised in bunch sprints, winning 19 stages across the three Grand Tours, and taking 89 wins in his professional career.
Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY) was the official tourism agency for the traditional county of Yorkshire, the UK's largest county, promoting Yorkshire tourism both nationally and internationally, until 2022. It was formerly known as the Yorkshire Tourist Board until 2009, but underwent a rebranding: a new Welcome to Yorkshire brand, a new website, the launching of various new marketing campaigns and a move to the present site in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The stated aim of the organisation was: 'to grow the county's visitor economy'. The Chief Executive from 2008 until his resignation in March 2019 was Sir Gary Verity. The next Chief Executive, James Mason, was appointed in 2019 having previously worked as chief operating officer of Bradford City Football Club and a journalist for the BBC.
The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It is promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour.
Team Wiggins Le Col, also known as Team Wiggins in media, was a professional developmental cycling team based in the United Kingdom, which began competing in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling in 2015. The team folded at the end of the 2019 season after completing the Tour of Britain.
Sir Lawrence Byford was an English police officer who served as Chief Inspector of Constabulary from 1983 to 1987. His inquiry into the failings of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation by West Yorkshire Police earned him the description "the man who changed the face of modern policing" because it "led to fundamental changes in the way serial killer investigations would be carried out in future across the world".
The 2019 Tour de Yorkshire was a four-day cycling stage race held in Yorkshire over 2–5 May 2019. It was the fifth edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race was rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour.