The National Theatre of Scotland has announced the appointment of five new members to serve on its Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chair, Seona Reid DBE. From October 2014, the Board will expand to 14 members through the joining of Alison Lefroy Brooks, Janette Harkess, Karen Hogarty, Ian Ritchie and Robert Softley Gale.
Three current members, Professor Maggie Kinloch, Irene Tweedie and Sir Adrian Shinwell, will have come to the end of their respective terms by Autumn 2015.
The National Theatre of Scotland’s Chair, Seona Reid, thanked those who have served on the Board and welcomed the five new members:
“Serving on the Board of one of Scotland’s most vibrant, dynamic and thriving arts organisations requires dedication, time commitment and the passion to support us in developing and enhancing our work into the future.
We eagerly welcome the new Directors, whose skills enhance our already expert board in the areas of, amongst other things, IT and digital, media, legal, finance, theatre and equalities. We very much look forward to working with the expanded Board of Directors in continuing to shape an exciting future for the National Theatre of Scotland.”
Biographies
Alison Lefroy Brooks is a modern languages graduate who qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG and went on to become a treasury specialist. She ran BOC’s North Pacific treasury operations, before moving to the Netherlands to join the Dutch firm TPG. She moved to Scotland in 2001 to join Aggreko plc, and played a role in its growth into one of Scotland’s FTSE 100 plcs as Group Treasurer, Chair of its UK pension scheme and also chaired the Scottish branch of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. Alison retired from Aggreko in January 2013 and is currently Vice Chair of Glasgow School of Art and Chair of its Audit Committee.
Janette Harkess is Head of Media for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland's largest-ever sporting and cultural event. A former journalist, she has worked in senior roles across a range of national and regional titles. Prior to joining the Commonwealth Games, she was Director of Policy and Research for the independent economic development network, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. A board member of Scottish Youth Theatre, a member of the Common Purpose Advisory Panel, and an honorary Vice President of the Journalists' Charity, she is formerly Vice Chair of Culture Sparks, and has been a Commissioner to the Poverty Truth Commission.
Karen Hogarty studied law at the University of Glasgow and McGill University, Montréal, prior to joining law firm Slaughter and May. With Reed Smith LLP she worked in the Advertising, Technology and Media Practice advising leading banks and other financiers, distributors and producers in relation to films and on a variety of media projects. At Miramax UK, she became Head of Legal and Business Affairs looking after the Company’s European interests. Karen moved back to Scotland in 2002 and is Head of Business Affairs at children’s animation company, Red Kite Animation Limited. With over 15 years’ experience in the media sector, Karen is also an associate member of BAFTA and a former non-executive director of Scottish Screen.
Ian C Ritchie CBE is Chairman of Iomart, Computer Applications Service, the Interactive Design Institute, Cogbooks, Blipfoto and Red Fox Media. In 1984 he founded OWL - a forerunner to the worldwide web. Since 1989, he has been involved in over 30 start-up high-tech businesses, including Digital Bridges and Orbital. He is a Fellow and the Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Fellow and Vice President for Business of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He serves on the Board of the Edinburgh International Science Festival and chairs the Board of Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh's Science Centre. He is a Trustee of the Saltire Foundation and The David Hume Institute. He was a Board member of Channel 4 TV (2000-2006), and Deputy Chairman of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (2002-2011). He was awarded a CBE in the 2003 New Year’s Honours list, for services to Enterprise and Education.
Robert Softley Gale is an established figure in the Scottish arts scene, as a performer, writer, director and a strong advocate of equality of access to the arts for disabled people, whether as artists or audiences. Robert has developed, co-written or performed in many productions, including Girl X for the National Theatre of Scotland and the award-winning If These Spasms Could Speak, hit of the 2013 Made in Scotland programme. A University of Glasgow MSc (Hons.) graduate in Business and Management, Robert is Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, and Director of Flip-Disability Equality in the Arts, where he pursues his interests in promoting the work of disabled artists and supporting organisations to develop their own engagement with equality for people with disability.
Seona Reid DBE, Chair of the Board of Directors, National Theatre of Scotland
Seona was Director of The Glasgow School of Art from 1999 to 2013, having served as Director of the Scottish Arts Council for nine years. Previously, she has been Assistant Director of Greater London Arts, Director of Shape, Head of Public Relations for Ballet Rambert, Press and Publicity Officer at Northern Dance Theatre, Business Manager at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal, and a freelance arts consultant working with the Arts Council of Great Britain and the London Contemporary Dance Trust. She is Chair of Cove Park, and Scottish Commissioner to the UK-US Fulbright Commission. In April 2011 she was appointed Deputy Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund / Heritage Lottery Fund, and Chair of their Scottish Committee, and, in June 2013, she was appointed to the Board of the Tate Gallery. In recent years, she has been a member of the DCMS Advisory Panel on the Selection of UK City of Culture 2017, member of the Knowledge and Evaluation Committee of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, a Commissioner on the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, Vice Chair of the Lighthouse Centre for Architecture, Design and the City in Glasgow, and on the Boards of The Arches and of Suspect Culture Theatre. She has honorary degrees from Robert Gordon, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian and Strathclyde Universities. She is an honorary Professor of the University of Glasgow, was awarded a CBE in 2008 and a DBE in 2014 for services to the creative industries.