Introducing the next wave: from poetry to pottery and illustration to immersive tech

Expanding our network of Industry Champions

Engagement with industry is crucial to the PEC’s success. Our network of industry champions help guide us on industry’s most pressing challenges, provide expert insight to inform our research and give critical feedback on our policy recommendations. We were delighted with the response to our first round of recruitment in 2019 when 55 trusted practitioners signed up. They have already made valuable contributions to our research and policy recommendations, including panel discussions both on the value of creative education, and on best practice for local growth in the creative industries.

However, this was only the start of the network. We have a diverse cohort drawn from all across the sector and from all parts of the UK. We wanted to add to this talented group of individuals to further represent the breadth of subsectors and the depth of experience that can be found across the creative industries. For this reason, we are today pleased to announce a second wave of industry champions.

We listened to the responses following the announcement of our first wave of Champions, and consulted across the sector. Crucially, we asked our existing Champions who they felt was missing from the network. Many of the new additions are a direct result of their suggestions. As before, the network will continue to grow. If there is any sub-sector, region, perspective or role that you feel needs better representation, please email your suggestions to Chloe Jeffries, the PEC’s Partnerships Manager, at chloe.jeffries@manchester.ac.uk

Our second wave of Industry Champions are:

Alia Alzougbi – Artist, Educator and Cultural Producer
Amanda Maxwell – board member and Community Manager of shesaid.so
Annie Lydford – Managing Director of Nevill Holt Opera
Ben Carlin – Co-Founder of Megaverse and Immerse Sheffield
Charlotte Beevor – Entrepreneurial Designer and Stylist
Chris van der Kuyl – Digital entrepreneur and Chairman & Co-Founder of 4J Studios
Conor Mitchell – Founder and Artistic Director of The Belfast Ensemble
Elayce Ismail – Freelance Theatre and Opera Director
Helen Mort – Author
Dr Helen Willmott – Programme Director of Made in Corby
Hope Dickson Leach – Writer and Director
James Rose – Change Maker and Conductor at Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Dr Jamie Coleman – Founder and Chair of CodeBase
Jaswinder Singh – Director of Asian Arts Agency
Jeff Coghlan – Managing Director at Matmi
Jeremy Pritchard – Musician, Everything Everything
Kevin Beimers – Director of Italic Pig
Kobi Onyame – Recording artist, producer and songwriter
Liz Mosley – Self-employed Graphic Designer
Lucy Bayliss – Head of Creative Programmes at DanceEast
Lucy Harvey – Visual Artist and co-director of Paradise Works
Mandy Barker – Founder of Sail Creative
Maria Tanjala – Co-founder of Big Couch and FilmChain
Natalie Griffith – Brand & Marketing Director of Unit 2 Games
Dr Oliver Cox – Heritage Engagement Fellow at the University of Oxford
Phil Critchlow – Founder and CEO of TBI Media
Phil Stuart – Founder and Creative Director of PRELOADED
Rachel O’Riordan – Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Reiko Kaneko – Ceramicist, Designer and Educator
Sade Banks – Founder and CEO of Sour Lemons
Samuel McDowell – Co-Founder and Director of Charco Press
Sarah Bird, Director of Wild Rumpus
Seán Elder – Curator and independent Researcher
Stephanie Edwards – Co founder of Urban Symbiotics
Stephen Bennett – Multimedia Artist and policymaker
Sydney Levinson – Creative Industries Activist
Tom Adeyoola – Entrepreneur
Vaughn McKenzie – CEO of JAAK
Vikas Kumar – Founder and Director of GemArts
Will Saunders – Consultant and Executive Producer
Wolfgang Buttress – Artist
Yehrin Tong – Illustrator

To find out more about each of our Industry Champions, please visit our People page.

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