Our senior leadership team
This is our senior leadership team, it comprises of senior directors as well as our Executive Board members.
Our executive board
Our Executive board is chaired by the Chief Executive, Darren Henley, and comprises two Deputy Chief Executives, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, and two Executive Directors.
Our leadership
Ruth Alaile
Ruth has extensive experience of governance in its broadest sense. She is a former Secretary of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and she managed the Committee's 2010 inquiry into MP's Expenses.
Ruth has a degree in Economics and Law, and a postgraduate certificate in coaching and behavioural change. She is also an Arts Council coaching champion.
Navees Rahman
Irene Constantinides
Irene has a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching and has experience of managing culture change and driving quality.
Irene began her career as a journalist and editor for a newspaper, and then moved into agency PR.
Michelle Dickson
Prior to this role, Michelle was Director, North and the National Director of Touring for Arts Council England. She was responsible for the Arts Council's work within Yorkshire, Humberside and North East Lincolnshire, and for the support and development of Touring, including the Strategic Touring Programme.
Prior to joining ACE in 2014, Michelle was Director and Chief Executive of Oxford Playhouse, a 600 seat theatre with a 50 seat studio. She produced and toured theatre locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, supported numerous emerging and established artists, commissioned and co-produced work and developed an off-site programme of performance. She was a founding member of the house network and of Dance Touring Partnership. She has also worked for The British Council and Ambassador Theatre Group.
Michelle has a degree in English, and is a certified coach.
Laura Dyer
Before joining the Arts Council, Laura was Chief Executive of East Midlands Arts Board. Until 2010, when she became Executive Director Midlands and South West, she held the post of Executive Director, East Midlands.
After postgraduate studies at Essex University, Laura started her career in the arts in a number of theatre and community arts companies before moving into large outdoor events programming at the Garden Festival Wales. She went on to work for local authorities in Norfolk and London.
Laura joined the Arts Council in 2003. She is a member of our Executive Board.
Hazel Edwards
She originally trained as a history curator at Leicester University and worked in museums and art galleries in the North East for 25 years; she was the first woman to lead Discovery Museum, the large science and industry museum in Newcastle upon Tyne. She has extensive experience of board membership including Director and Deputy Chair of Bristol Ideas. She sat on the Museums Association Board for three years and in 2015 she became a Fellow of the Museums Association in recognition of her contribution to the sector. Her wide experience of universities, local authorities and the arts drives her commitment to developing dynamic regional cultural ecologies.
Phil Gibby
Previously Phil had held a number of senior roles at one of the Prince of Wales’s charities, Arts & Business, and headed the Marketing and Development department at Bristol Old Vic.
Phil is a Henley Business School certified coach. He has chaired, and served as a trustee of, a number of cultural, charitable and educational organisations in Bristol, where he has lived for 20 years, Wales, and the wider south west.
Darren Henley
The author of two independent government reviews into music education and cultural education, Darren led Classic FM for fifteen years.
A certified coach, he has a doctorate exploring the role of the outsider as an agent for change and degrees in positive psychology, history of art, management, and politics.
Abid Hussain
He is an alumnus of the U.S International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) and the Salzburg Global Seminar and is currently completing an MBA at Aston University.
Sanj Jagait
Sanj has spent his career helping organisations harness data to devise insight evidenced strategies, improve decision making and simplify the working lives of colleagues and stakeholders.
Sanj joined the Arts Council in 2021.
Emmie Kell
She is a Fellow of the University of Exeter’s Centre for Leadership, a qualified teacher and coach.
Peter Knott
Born in Leicester, Peter is a graduate of the University of Liverpool and has a Masters degree in Film from the University of Warwick. He has worked for the London Film and Video Development Agency (now Film London) as well as the British Record Industry Trust.
Ian Matthews
Ian took on the role of HR Director in 2013, and joined the Arts Council’s Senior Leadership Team in 2021, responsible for People and Culture.
Ian’s previously worked in the National Trust, in financial services and for the General Social Care Council.
He enjoys cycling and making synthpop with his 11-year-old son.
Sarah Maxfield
Simon Mellor
Before joining the Arts Council, Simon was founder and General Director of the Manchester International Festival. He was also Chief Executive of the Lyric Hammersmith and producer and founder of Gloria Theatre Company.
Simon joined the Arts Council in 2012. He is a member of our Executive Board.
Tonya Nelson
Tonya was seconded to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2017 where she co-authored the policy report Culture is Digital.
She was formerly Chair of the International Council of Museums (UK), Bomb Factory Art Foundation and a member of Christie’s Art World Professional Advisory Group. She worked for University College London for nine years, rising to the level of Director of Museums and Cultural Programmes.
Prior to entering the cultural sector, she was a barrister and management consultant in Washington, DC, where she grew up.
Catherine Nesus
Prior to this, Catherine was the Arts Council’s Programme Director for the Culture Recovery Fund, which followed a secondment to DCMS to support the Culture Recovery Board as Deputy Head, CRF Secretariat.
Prior to joining the Arts Council in 2018, Catherine was a management consultant specialising in strategy development, transformation, commercial negotiations, and change management projects - working with public, private sector and indigenous organisations. Catherine is a former senior civil servant (NZ) working across a range of sectors including arts and heritage, indigenous issues, justice services, disaster recovery and economic development.
Catherine has a Masters of Public Policy (NZ).
Mags Patten
Mags leads on communication between the Arts Council and its broad range of stakeholders which includes the public, government and the cultural sector.
Mags began her career in television, working for Channel 4 and the BBC. She has led communication for English National Opera and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She has also worked as a consultant for clients including the European Union/Equality Commission Northern Ireland and Channel 4 television.
Mags joined the Arts Council in 2012. She is a member of our Executive Board and a Henley Business School certified coach.
Richard Russell
Before taking up his position on the Executive Board, Richard was Director of Policy and Research and led the Arts Council’s work on leadership and workforce in the arts and cultural sector.
Richard began his career leading arts organisations and festivals across England, including as Programme Manager for Birmingham City Council on the UK City of Music in 1992.
Richard joined the Arts Council in 2000, and was director in the South East region before moving to the Arts Council’s head office in 2010.
Richard is a member of our Executive Board.
Michelle Walker
Prior to this, Michelle was the Strategic Lead for Culture at Nine Elms (Wandsworth Council), Executive Director at Festival.Org (Greenwich+Docklands International Festival) and has worked outside of the capital as the Director at Hat Fair in Winchester and Producer at Oxford Playhouse Theatre.
In her role as Area Director, Michelle will lead the delivery of Let’s Create, the Arts Council’s 10-year strategy across all boroughs in London, making strategic investment to ensure there is impact for the arts across the capital.