Sarah Roots

Sarah Roots is an internationally recognised leader in tourism, destination marketing and visitor attraction development, with over 30 years’ experience growing globally recognised brands across the entertainment, heritage and cultural sectors.
 

She recently concluded a distinguished 16-year career at Warner Bros. Discovery, where she served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Studio Tours & Retail Experiences, Global Experiences. She led the strategic growth of an international portfolio of visitor attractions and experiential retail businesses, overseeing commercial performance and growth,  brand development, marketing, customer experience and international expansion.

Sarah is best known for leading the development and launch of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, one of the world’s most successful visitor attractions, which has welcomed more than 27 million paying visitors. Most recently, she led the development and opening of Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, the largest indoor Harry Potter experience in the world.

Prior to Warner Bros. Discovery, Sarah held senior leadership positions with Tussauds Group (now Merlin Entertainments), Royal Museums Greenwich and the National Trust. As an Executive Board Director at Royal Museums Greenwich, she was responsible for brand, marketing, communications, digital engagement and the visitor portfolio. At the National Trust, she led marketing, communications, visitor experience, learning and commercial functions before moving to a national Director role at Head Office.

Sarah has built her career at the intersection of world-class visitor experiences, destination marketing, global brand leadership and commercial growth. She brings extensive board-level experience in international marketing, communications and brand strategy, having built one of the world’s most recognised visitor experiences and attracted millions of domestic and international visitors to the UK. Her experience spans global entertainment, heritage and cultural brands, giving her a broad perspective on growing tourism, engaging audiences and developing destination appeal.

Alongside her executive career, Sarah is an active contributor to the UK’s tourism and cultural sectors as a heritage trustee, adviser and international speaker. She is passionate about developing future talent, championing apprenticeships and widening access to careers in tourism and culture, and is an experienced coach and mentor to emerging leaders across the sector.