The Dean and Chapter of Liverpool Cathedral are delighted to announce that Alissa Koopal has accepted our offer to become the next Director of Enterprises. She succeeds Paul Smith who is moving to become the next Chief Officer of Southwark Cathedral.
Alissa has a depth of experience and comes to us from her previous role as CEO of Pennine Events, an event management company who have supported the cathedral with our highly successful Light Before Christmas spectaculars and charity abseils.
As CEO Alissa spearheaded Pennine through the pandemic, refocusing them on sports and culture and as well as working with us leading on Light up Lancaster and the UCI World Cycling Championships. Alissa has also served as Deputy Head of Marketing and Commercial at Culture Liverpool working alongside us on Gaia and the Museum of the Moon. She has also been a trustee for the Graham Shapiro Foundation.
The Director of Enterprise role is a crucial senior position for our cathedral at the heart of our strategic planning and operational delivery, having a particular responsibility around income generation and innovation as well as maintaining excellent external relations with key stakeholders. Liverpool Cathedral is at the heart of the Liverpool visitor economy and we need to continue to deliver an exceptional visitor experience. Yet we do this recognising our role as a place of worship, the spiritual and religious heartbeat of our city and diocese.
The Very Reverend Dr Sue Jones said “I am so happy to welcome Alissa to Liverpool Cathedral. Having someone who has worked with us and supported us is a real bonus as I know she fully understands the challenges and joys of being an award-winning tourist attraction whilst maintaining our place as a centre of worship. Alissa will be able to build on the work of her predecessors while bringing her own fresh approach to the role. This is such an important position and getting the right person in place has been crucial. We have that person and I am delighted to welcome Alissa to Liverpool Cathedral.”
Alissa added “I am thrilled and humbled to be joining Liverpool Cathedral in September and pick up the baton from Paul Smith, who has brought so much to the organisation over the years.
My journey of working alongside the incredible teams at Liverpool Cathedral started around 7 years ago, and to now officially join Liverpool Cathedral within the role of Director of Enterprises during their Centenary year is a true honour.
I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to play a small supporting part in the successes Liverpool has seen through my previous tenures, and I am thrilled to return within a championing role for both our City and Liverpool Cathedral as a World class destination. I very much look forward to continuing the brilliant work and achievements made, and focus on the next 100 years ofshining a light on the importance of community, culture, faith, and place- as a vessel to collectively move forward, champion change and drive our joint agenda through encounters on all levels.
I have always been impressed with the approach Liverpool Cathedral has taken as a true place for the people. Liverpool Cathedral’s approach is innovative, daring to do things a little different, whilst striking the gentle balance between not only being a place of worship, but a true voice, solace and place of celebration for the wider community. All delivered through genuine passion, care and respectful approaches to the realm we operate in and the people we do it for; which is exemplar through the current internationally acclaimed Anish Kapoor exhibition, staged in the spiritual context of the cathedral, where significant moments in life such as birth and death are celebrated and ritualised, the artworks provide connection and inspire profound exploration”.
Alissa starts with us in September!
Exploring the Sunday Gospel – Twelfth Sunday after Trinity