Meet the team
The Institute of Place Management works closely with academic staff across Manchester Metropolitan University and is based in the Department of Marketing, International Business, and Tourism within the Faculty of Business and Law at Manchester Metropolitan University.
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Head of IPM
Ian Harvey
Ian was appointed Head of the Institute of Place Management in October 2024. He is also the co-founder and Vice-President of the national charity Civic Voice. He serves as a judge for the Visa Let’s Celebrate Towns award. Ian is a member of the Historic Places Panel for Historic England and was appointed a Place Fellow by the University of Birmingham in early 2025. Ian was elected a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Place Management in 2021, having championed the voices and efforts of thousands of placemakers across the UK.
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Proffesional Network and Engagement Officer
Rachel Nickeas
Rachel provides direct support to IPM members, as well as events planning and external liaison with the Institute. She is also part of the postgraduate programmes management team, working closely with lecturers and prospective students of the master’s degree.
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Project Administrator
Natasha Brooker
Tasha is Project Support and supports membership enquiries, dealing with member onboarding and supporting our strategic projects.
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Industry Engagement
Joshua Harris
Josh has a particular focus on supporting IPM’s activities across Greater Manchester and supporting our commercial work.
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Business Support Officer
Crystal Jephcote
Crystal is based within the Business Engagement & Partnerships Directorate at Manchester Met, where she supports the senior leadership team with a range of activities to deliver our external engagement and partnerships strategy. This includes working with the IPM on key initiatives and events such as the Place Symposium and working with colleagues to deliver the industrial strategy.
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Alumni Manager
Laura Laver
Laura is part of Manchester Met’s Alumni Relations team and supports IPM alumni in staying connected with the university after completing their courses.
Research, Policy and Practice
Meet the academics at Manchester Metropolitan University shaping ‘place’ and their areas of research interest
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Oluwaferanmi Adeyemo
Researcher in Place-based Policy, Governance and Public Service Delivery
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Mihalis Kavaratzis
Professor of Place Marketing
Current research interests include place branding and tourism destination
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Nigel Morgan
Professor of Social Sustainability
Research interests include tourism, hospitality and place marketing research
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Steve Millington
Professor of Place Management
Current research interests are place management, public space and experiences in urban life
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Lucy Montague
Senior Lecturer
Dr Lucy Montague is widely considered a leading authority on high streets.
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Cathy Parker
Professor of Place Management
Current research interests devolution, high streets, data
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John Pearson
Senior Lecturer
More recently I have considered the human rights implications of poor air quality.
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Karen Salt
Professor of Culture, Place and Communities
Current research interests include collective governance, community activism, institutional transformation
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Gary Warnaby
Professor of Retail and Marketing
Current research interests include place marketing