CHRIS TOWNSEND (panel chair)
Equipment Editor, TGO Magazine

Chris Townsend is one of the world’s most highly respected commentators on outdoor clothing and equipment and is also well-known as an author and long-distance hiker. He is the award-winning author of 18 books, including The Backpackers’ Handbook, the Cicerone guide to walking in Scotland and, most recently, Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams – an account of a solo walk along the Pacific Northwest Trail. Chris was the first person to complete a continuous round of all the Scottish Munros and Tops and has walked across Scotland from coast-to-coast 15 times, 14 of them while participating in the annual TGO Challenge. He has been Equipment Editor of TGO magazine since 1991.

EMILY RODWAY
Editor, TGO Magazine

Emily Rodway has worked at TGO magazine for five years and has been the magazine’s editor for the past two years, a period in which TGO has undergone significant change and development. An outdoor enthusiast since the guide-camps and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions of her adolescence, in recent years she has enjoyed walks in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Lake District, Snowdonia and Scotland, including a coast-to-coast crossing of her adopted home country as a participant in the legendary TGO Challenge.

ANDREW DENTON
CEO, Outdoor Industries Association (OIA)

Andrew Denton has been working in the outdoor sector since 1984, starting his career in outdoor education and then moving on to a series of senior management and ownership roles in businesses including Rohan, Mountain Equipment, Sprayway, The Peaco Group and the Outdoor Sports Company (OSC). Since August 2011 he has been CEO of the Outdoor Industries Association (OIA), the trade body for manufacturers, retailers and other organisations that provide products and services for the outdoor leisure pursuits market in the United Kingdom.

ANDY HOWELL
Blogger, Must be this Way

Andy Howell is a backpacker who, when he slips away from the city, can be found in the mountains of France and Spain or the Scottish Highlands. Nine years ago he started a blog to detail the planning of his first TGO Challenge. The blog, ‘Must be this way’, is still going strong today.