People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, has appointed Tea Colaianni, group HR director for Merlin Entertainments, to its council of members.

She becomes the latest addition to the council, which is made up of 40 executives and directors from across the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector, and which helps drive the organisation's strategic direction.

Colaianni also joins the Women 1st leadership council, responsible for directing the strategic affairs of People 1st's Women 1st campaign. She will act as an ambassador for the initiative, whose long-term aim is to raise the number of female board-level executives in the industry to 10% by 2015 and to double that by 2025.