John Upton

John Upton is a senior executive with 30 years of commercial, operational and transformation experience across aviation, infrastructure, consumer, retail and leisure sectors. They are the Managing Director of Experience Education, where they enrich the lives of students and educators through experiential school travel. They previously served as interim Chief Experiences Officer at CAVU and as Chief Executive Officer of London Southend Airport, where they grew destinations from 3 to about 20, delivered fivefold passenger growth, and increased non-aero/digital revenue by 20% while securing a multi-year EasyJet aircraft deal. They also led NO1 LOUNGES through the pandemic to successful exits to Swissport (Australia) and Collinson/Swissport (UK). Their career includes leadership roles at McDonald’s UK and Leon Restaurants, advisory work with Spoonshot and Techstars, and they earned a Cardiff University LLB Hons and studied at Solihull School.