V&A Dundee appoints new Board members
James Hanlon, Kieran Long, Adele Patrick, Mike Soutar, Chris Stark and Zandra Yeaman are today announced as new Board members of V&A Dundee. The new appointees are all exceptional leaders and bring extensive experience and expertise across business, culture, climate change, civil service, design, diversity, inclusivity, law and media.
These new appointees will join V&A Dundee’s current Board: Chair Tim Allan CBE, Liz Bacon, Leonie Bell, Beth Bate, Paul Brewer, Greg Colgan, Iain Gillespie, Rachel Lloyd, Abigail Pogson and Tim Reeve. There are also two observers from V&A Dundee’s Young People’s Collective, Nathan Inatimi and Freya Macleod.
V&A Dundee is Scotland’s Design Museum, an independent charitable organisation, and part of the V&A family of museums. Operated by Design Dundee Ltd, the organisation has an independent Chair and is overseen by a volunteer Board whose members are non-executive directors. The Board comprises V&A Dundee’s unique set of Founding Partners as well as independent members.
Announcing the appointments, Tim Allan, Chair of V&A Dundee’s Board, said:
“I am delighted to welcome our six new board members, who bring an invaluable and diverse range of leadership and expertise. The museum already has a very strong Board, but adding important national, UK and international dimensions will support our role as a global centre for design, with reach and influence.
“Their considerable skills will make an important contribution to the next chapter in V&A Dundee’s story. I look forward to working with them all as we look towards, and beyond, our fifth anniversary in 2023.”
V&A Dundee’s enriched Board will focus on the museum’s long-term strategic direction and sustainability. The Board will support the organisation post-pandemic in delivering the museum’s new vision and mission to inspire and empower through design.
V&A Dundee was conceived as a new type of museum for the 21st century. A gathering place for people from Dundee and a welcoming destination for visitors from near and far, V&A Dundee generates joy for audiences, deepening reach and relevance and championing Scottish design at home and around the world.
The six new Board members are:
James Hanlon, Head of Legal for the Coventry Building Society
James is a Barrister with more than 15 years of experience of representing businesses nationally and internationally. He is General Counsel & Company Secretary of Treatwell operating in the wellness, beauty and tech space. He has led legal departments for IKEA and INGKA representing the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada. He has served internationally as a Director on Boards operating in the fields of investment, tech, solar, wind and forestry. James has also championed and led initiatives on diversity and inclusion, supporting businesses on equity and equality. James currently supports CW Mind as a non-executive director- a mental health charity specialising in care for children and adults.
Kieran Long, Director, ArkDes, the National Centre for Architecture and Design, Stockholm
Kieran Long has been the director of ArkDes, the national museum of architecture and design in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2017. Under his directorship, he has overseen an internationally significant and successful programme of exhibitions and events and has developed the museum into a hub of practice-based research contributing to debates nationally about design, architecture and the future of Swedish cities. Before he moved to Sweden, Kieran was Keeper of the department of Design, Architecture and Digital at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He has over 20 years of experience in architecture, design and museums, as a BBC broadcaster, journalist, author, critic, educator, public speaker and curator.
Adele Patrick, Founder and Director of Glasgow Women’s Library
Adele has been developing innovative cultural projects and community learning and teaching rooted in equalities for over 30 years. She co-founded Glasgow Women’s Library in 1991 and is currently a Co-Director. Trained as a designer at Glasgow School of Art (where she subsequently taught Gender, Art and Culture) Adele’s work spans the development of innovation housing projects including Take Root, research (including ongoing work on Feminist Leadership Following a Clore Leadership Fellowship in 2018/2019), publishing, collaborations with a wide range of creatives and work as a movement leader addressing inequalities in the cultural sector. Adele was Scotswoman of the Year in 2016.
Mike Soutar, Media and Technology Entrepreneur
Born in Dundee, Mike Soutar started his working life as a journalist writing horoscopes at DC Thomson. Across a 35-year career Mike has worked in leadership roles in magazine publishing, newspapers, digital media, radio and television in the UK and America. Mike was most recently Chief Executive of the Evening Standard and is on the boards of several businesses stretching from contemporary art and TV production to fintech. An experienced director, Mike has served as a trustee board member of Comic Relief and the Independent Press Standards Organisation. He is based in London.
Chris Stark, Chief Executive, Climate Change Committee
Chris led the work of the committee (the UK’s statutory climate advisers) to recommend a ‘Net Zero’ target for the UK, the world’s first legislated Net Zero target. He has since directed the development of detailed pathways for the UK to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2021, he presented the UK’s third climate change risk assessment, with detailed analysis and advice on the extensive risks facing the UK from climate change.
Chris has held senior roles in central government, including HM Treasury and as Director for Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government. He is a regular commentator in national and international media and featured in David Attenborough’s documentary, Climate Change – The Facts.
Zandra Yeaman, Curator of Discomfort at Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery
Zandra devises museum interventions, community conversations and digital initiatives. She works with The Hunterian collections to explore the multiple meanings, different perspectives and stories associated with them. Bringing many years of professional experience working in the social justice and equality field, promoting diversity and inclusion, she has a PGDip in Citizenship and Human Rights from Glasgow Caledonian University. Previously, Zandra was the Community Campaigns Officer for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, responsible for coordinating Black History Month events programme in Scotland. For more than a decade, she has assisted the Scottish arts and heritage sector, helping to question working practices, involve new audiences and ensure that anti-racism, equality and diversity is at the heart of all they do.
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