Wetherspoon announces appointment of employee Directors. After a thorough selection process, four appointments have been made - two as employee directors with full plc director status, and two as associate employee directors. The employee directors are: Debbie Whittingham - regional manager for the West Midlands. Debbie joined Wetherspoon as a shift manager in 1992 and was appointed as a pub manager in 1993 and as an area manager in 2002. Debbie is chair of the company's Women's Network Group and was named Wetherspoon's 'Area Manager of the Year' in 2014. Hudson Simmons - area manager for Sheffield. Hudson joined Wetherspoon as a shift manager in 1997, was appointed as a pub manager in 2003 and as an area manager in 2014. In 2010, he was named 'Pub Manager of the Year'.