People

Meet the core team, the researchers from our consortium of universities, our Industry Champions, and International Council.

Core team Researchers Industry Champions International Council

This page is the process of being updated as the Creative PEC moves to new co-hosts Newcastle University and the RSA. Below you can see the researchers we worked with during the first iteration of the PEC 2018 - 2023.

Meet the PEC's Industry Champions: a UK-wide network of trusted practitioners, drawn from all parts of the creative industries. The group provide the PEC with guidance on industry’s most pressing challenges, expert insight to inform our research, and critical feedback on our policy recommendations.

Meet the PEC's International Council: a network of leading policy and creative economy practitioners from across the world, convened by The British Council. The group share international creative economy policy intelligence and research opportunities, and act as critical friends in reviewing and providing an international perspective on the PEC’s activities. Find out more.

Tom Adeyoola

Entrepreneur

Tom Adeyoola is a technology entrepreneur. He was CEO and Founder of apparel technology scale-up Metail (2008-2019); acquired...

Alia Alzougbi

Artist, Educator and Cultural Producer

Alia works at the intersection of arts, education and activism. Her grounding in Social Anthropology, Applied Theatre and Dev...

Syima Aslam

Director at Bradford Literature Festival

Syima Aslam is founder and Director of the Bradford Literature Festival (BLF) which she has established as one of the most in...

Sade Banks

Founder and CEO of Sour Lemons

Sade Banks is currently the co-director of the social justice consultancy, The What If Experiment, where she creates strategi...

Mandy Barker

Founder of Sail Creative

Mandy is founder of Sail Creative, and a participatory designer focusing on story-led solutions. With a strong focus on co-cr...

Lucy Bayliss

Head of Creative Programmes at DanceEast

Lucy has been working in the arts sector for the last 18 years, specialising in dance participation and training and is passi...

Charlotte Beevor

Entrepreneurial Designer and Stylist

Charlotte is an award-winning Entrepreneurial Designer and Stylist with a passion for colour, sustainability and creative dir...

Stephen Bennett

Joint Head of Policy Lab and Visual artist

Stephen Bennett is a multimedia artist and policy-maker working at the intersection of art, science and politics. Stephen wor...

Sarah Bird

Director of Wild Rumpus

Sarah Bird is a Director of Wild Rumpus, a rural community interest company based in a woodland in Cheshire. The organisation...

Wolfgang Buttress

Artist

Artist Wolfgang Buttress creates multi-sensory artworks that draw inspiration from our evolving relationship with the ‘natura...

Ben Carlin

Co-Founder of Megaverse and Immerse Sheffield

Ben is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of immersive content studio Megaverse which specialise in creating bespoke, platform na...

Tom Chalmers

Founder and Managing Director at Legend Times Group

Tom Chalmers is the Managing Director of Legend Times, a group of publishing companies he has founded. He started his first c...

Paul Corcoran

Chief Executive at Agent Marketing

Paul is CEO of independent brand agency, Agent and the pioneering Agent Academy CIC which helps young people start careers wi...

Dr Oliver Cox

Heritage Engagement Fellow at the University of Oxford

Oliver is Heritage Engagement Fellow at the University of Oxford where he leads a team dedicated to creating mutually benefic...

Stephanie Edwards

Co-Founder of Urban Symbiotics

Stephanie Edwards is an Architect, Urbanist and an elected Council member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)...

Inua Ellams

Poet, Playwright, Performer, Graphic Artist and Designer

Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a Poet, Playwright and Performer, Graphic artist and Designer. He is a Complete Works poet al...

Sarah Ellis

Director of Digital Development at Royal Shakespeare Company

Sarah Ellis is an award winning producer currently working as Director of Digital Development for the Royal Shakespeare Compa...

Ben Evans

Director at London Design Festival

Ben Evans is the Director of London Design Festival, which he co-founded with Sir John Sorrell in 2003. The Festival celebrat...

Michaela Greene

Development and Communications Director at Roundhouse

Michaela Greene is the Development and Communications Director of the Roundhouse and has been at the organisation for over si...

Natalie Griffith

Brand & Marketing Director of Unit 2 Games

Natalie is the Brand and Marketing Director for award-winning independent game studio Unit 2 Games, and the former founder an...

Loyd Grossman

Chairman of The Royal Parks

Loyd Grossman is Chairman of The Royal Parks and well known as a food entrepreneur and broadcaster. His television career inc...

Tony Heaton

Freelance Sculptor and Performance Artist

Tony Heaton OBE is a practising Sculptor, Chair of Shape Arts and Consultant/Advisor to many major cultural organisations, in...

Amir Hussain

Chief Executive at Yeme Architects

As founder of Bradford based Yeme Architects, Amir Hussain has been extensively involved in design-led, aspirational regenera...

Lyndsey Jackson

Deputy Chief Executive at Edinburgh Fringe Festival Society

Lyndsey Jackson is a senior arts administrator and live event producer, currently the Deputy Chief Executive of the Edinburgh...

Jennifer Johnston

Head of Learning at Into Film

Jennifer Johnston is Into Film’s Head of Learning UK, and Head of Programme, Northern Ireland, leading the Curation, Training...

Reiko Kaneko

Ceramicist, Designer and Educator

Reiko Kaneko is ceramicist, designer and educator based in London. She works at various scales in a range of typologies, desi...

Kurban Kassam

Freelance Film Producer

Kurban recently produced the feature film “The Party” starring Kristen Scott-Thomas, Timothy Spall and Cillian Murphy. The fi...

Noel Kelly

Chief Executive Officer and Director at Visual Artists Ireland

Noel Kelly is Chief Executive Officer of Visual Artists Ireland – the representative body for professional visual artists on ...

Anra Kennedy

Content and Partnerships Director at Culture24

Anra works with museums, galleries and heritage organisations, nationally and internationally, to help them successfully navi...

Nick Keynes

Director at Tileyard Studios

Former songwriter/producer Nick Keynes manages all aspects of Europe’s largest creative community, Tileyard London. Nick has ...

Vikas Kumar

Founder and Director of GemArts

Vikas Kumar is Founder and Director of GemArts, and since 2001 he has been leading this visionary arts organisation. Vikas’ p...

Hope Dickson Leach

Writer and Director

Hope completed her MFA in filmmaking at Columbia University where she made short films that played at festivals worldwide. Wh...

Anna Lowe

Co-founder and Director of Partnerships at Smartify

Anna Lowe is CoFounder of Smartify, a multi award-winning app named by the New Scientist as the ‘Shazam and Spotify of art’. ...

Amanda Maxwell

Community Manager and board member of shesaid.so

Amanda Maxwell is a board member and Community Manager of women in music network shesaid.so and a regular contributor to pane...

Samuel McDowell

Co-Founder and Director of Charco Press

Samuel McDowell initially trained as a commercial pilot, before embarking on a career in information technology, working for ...

Vaughn McKenzie

CEO of JAAK

Vaughn is CEO and co-founder at JAAK. Vaughn has been a pivotal figure in communicating the bold vision of JAAK to build a sp...

Fiona McLaughlin

Co-founding Director at Taunt Studios

Fiona McLaughlin is the Co-founding Director of the animation, VFX and interactive image studio, Taunt, located in the heart ...

Conor Mitchell

Founder and Artistic Director of The Belfast Ensemble

Conor Mitchell is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Belfast Ensemble, a pioneering music organisation in Northern Irel...

Jo Morrison

Director of Digital Innovation at Calvium

Jo operates at the intersection of research, design and enterprise. Focusing on digital innovation and multidisciplinary coll...

Dr Helen Mort

Author

Helen Mort has published two poetry collections with Chatto and Windus, ‘Division Street’ (2013) and ‘No Map Could Show Them’...

Liz Mosley

Self-employed Graphic Designer

Liz Mosley is a self-employed Graphic Designer with a passion for supporting and working with small businesses. She works for...

Dave Moutrey

Director and CEO at HOME

Dave has worked as an arts professional for over 30 years. He currently leads HOME, a purpose built 7,500m2 multi art form ve...

Kobi Onyame

Recording artist, Producer and Songwriter

Kobi Onyame (b. Kwame Barfour-Osei, July 3rd, 1982) is a Ghanaian/British recording artist, producer and songwriter. Describe...

Rachel O’Riordan

Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Rachel O’Riordan was appointed the Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in February 2019 and her first programm...

Laura Pye

Director at National Museums Liverpool

Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, joined the organisation in August 2018. Born in Liverpool, Laura returned ...

Lara Ratnaraja

Cultural Consultant

Lara is a freelance cultural consultant specialising in diversity, innovation, leadership, collaboration and cultural policy ...

Indhu Rubasingham

Artistic Director at Kiln Theatre

Indhu Rubasingham is the Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre. Productions as Artistic Director include: Red Velvet (Evening Sta...

Will Saunders

Consultant and Executive Producer

Will Saunders is an independent media consultant, and executive producer. He is Creative Industries Lead for the AHRC funded ...

Michelle Adia Scarlett

Community Immersive Producer

Community Immersive Producer (Freelance) with experience in directing and producing documentaries and films. Former Sara Putt...

Nasima Siddiqui

Co-Founder at WyndyMilla

Nasima decided to create The Fit Cycle to take her love for cycling together with her wealth of knowledge and experience on t...

Jaswinder Singh

Director of Asian Arts Agency

Jaswinder Singh is the Director of the Asian Arts Agency, a dynamic arts and music development agency based in Bristol that d...

Amy Smith

Head of Talent at Framestore

Amy has been working in talent related roles within the visual effects industry for over fifteen years, in both the UK and Ca...

Nick Starr

Co-Founder at Bridge Theatre

Nick Starr founded London Theatre Company with Nicholas Hytner in 2015 on leaving the National Theatre which they ran 2003-20...

Tolu Stedford

Development Producer at the Independent Film Trust and CEO of Creative Lions Productions

Tolu Stedford is a writer, producer and actress. With over 20 years of industry experience, she has entertained audiences on ...

Phil Stuart

Founder and Creative Director of PRELOADED

Phil is founder and Creative Director of BAFTA-winning game studio PRELOADED. Since 2000 he has worked with game-based techno...

Maria Tanjala

Co-founder of Big Couch and FilmChain

Maria's background is in film production, from line producing, budgeting to distribution strategies. She is passionate about ...

Nia Thomas

Managing Director at Boom Cymru

Nia Thomas is Managing Director of Cardiff based Boom Cymru TV Ltd, one of Wales’s largest, indigenous production groups. Emp...

Yehrin Tong

Illustrator

Yehrin Tong is an award winning London based illustrator, born in the UK and from Korean descent. She studied graphic design ...

Polly Tootal

Freelance Photographer

Polly Tootal’s photography tells the stories of landscapes and of the people who inhabit them—how they came to be there and w...

Zing Tsjeng

Freelance Journalist

Zing Tsjeng is a journalist, podcaster, presenter and author. She is currently the executive editor of VICE UK, where she hos...

Sandeep Virdee

Artistic Director and Founder Trustee at Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust

Born in Nakuru, Kenya, Sandeep grew up to the sounds of his teacher and father, Bhai Gurmit Singh Virdee (1937-2005), playing...

Annie Warburton

Chief Executive at Cockpit Arts

Annie Warburton is CEO of Cockpit Arts, London's leading studios for contemporary craft and design and a NatWest SE100 award-...

Sharon Watson

CEO and Principal of Northern School of Contemporary Dance

Sharon Watson CEO and Principal of Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Prior to this, Sharon was the 7th Artistic Director...

Claire Whitaker

Bid Director, Southampton City of Culture 2025

Claire has been appointed to take forward Southampton’s Bid for City of Culture 2025, working with Southampton’s communities,...

Nia Williams

Director of Learning and Engagement at National Museum Wales

Nia Williams is Director of Learning and Engagement at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. A qualified teacher and fluen...

Nicole Yershon

Freelance Advertising Consultant

Nicole is the founder of The NYC and before that the Ogilvy Labs – the dedicated Innovation unit of Ogilvy and Mather Group. ...