The Brain Trust
Join UsWe are very honoured that a number of highly experienced individuals who have played a leading role supporting the Arts by generously donating their time and resources have agreed to support RIAC by joining our Brain Trust. All share the concern that the tradition of helping arts and culture is maintained and passed on through the generations. By coaching and mentoring our volunteers they will ensure that RIAC Trustees can tap into decades of experience and wisdom.
Christophe Kasolowsky
Chair Stile Antico Foundation, Trustee Rachel Podger Foundation, Pushkin House
Christophe is a Chartered Management Accountant and a Partner at Baringa where he advises CFOs on Finance Transformation and Innovation. Prior to this he was an equity partner at EY and Chief Product Officer at Aptitude Software. He is currently chair of the Stile Antico Foundation and a Trustee of the Rachel Podger Foundation and Russian Arts and Cultural Institution Pushkin House. Christophe previously served on the Development Board of the Philharmonia.
Janis Susskind OBE
Interim Chair Britten Sinfonia, Trustee London Symphony Orchestra, Trustee Royal Opera House, Trustee Britten Pears Arts
Alongside her role as Managing Director of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Janis Susskind has been active on the boards of music organisations over many years, including the Royal College of Music and English National Opera as well as her current board positions. She was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2014.
Jonathan Norbury
Chair The Old Vic Endowment Trust, former Trustee Global Make Some Noise, Independent Examiner Peggy Guggenheim UK Charitable Trust
Jonathan Norbury is Head of Key Clients at Lloyds Private Banking. His early career was at Kleinwort Benson and Lazard, looking after wealthy families and their charitable trusts, leading him into becoming a trustee of various UK charities including The Old Vic Theatre and Global Make Some Noise, the inhouse charity of Global Radio (Classic FM, Heart, Capital and other stations).
Larissa Joy OBE
Chair The Foundling Museum, Chair Social Business Trust, Former Chair House of Illustration
Alongside her arts sector roles Larissa is Chair and Non-executive Director of a number of commercial businesses in the professional services sector spanning legal services, architecture and executive search and leadership consulting. She is also co-Chair and co-founder of Thrive at Five, and a Board member of Helpforce. She was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to charity and social enterprise.
Lorna Parker
Advisory Partner Manchester Square Partners, Trustee National Opera Studio, Trustee Royal Horticultural Society
As an advisory partner at Manchester Square Partners and as an independent consultant, Lorna Parker conducts board effectiveness reviews for UK public companies. In addition she is a member of the boards of Indivior plc, the RHS and the National Opera Studio.
Louise Katerega
Trustee ArtReach, Phoenix Dance Theatre & NeSSIE; Former Trustee Foundation for Community Dance, National Inclusive Dance Network
Louise Katerega describes herself as a woman of mixed Ugandan and English heritage and has been a versatile contributor to the UK dance scene for over two decades. She is especially acknowledged for her development work in dance by, for and with disabled people. In 2012 she co-choreographed the inclusive dance aspect of the Olympic Sailing opening ceremony and has advised/supported the inclusive legacy of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Monisha Shah
Chair Kings Counsel Appointments Panel, Chair Wikimedia UK, Trustee Royal Collection
Monisha Shah is a Board member for the Office for Students, a non-exec member of Ofcom’s Content Board, senior independent member of the Arts & Humanities Research Council and Trustee of the Art Fund. Previous roles have included Chair of Rose Bruford College, Trustee of Tate, National Gallery, Donmar Theatre and Foundling Museum. She was elected Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010 and appointed to the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 2015.
Sir Peter Bazalgette
President Royal Television Society, former Chair Arts Council England, English National Opera, author The Empathy Instinct, Chair ITV
Sir Peter Bazalgette is non-executive Chair of ITV and led an independent review into the UK’s creative industries as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Peter has been a non-executive Board member of UK Research and Innovation and currently chairs the Baillie Gifford Non-Fiction Book Prize Trustees.
Philip Jones
Chair Young Sounds UK, former Trustee and Chair Academy of Ancient Music
Philip Jones has chaired the board of Young Sounds UK (formerly Awards for Young Musicians) since 2007 and currently sits on the steering group of Camden Music Hub. He is a former partner at management consulting firm Accenture.
Rosy Greenlees OBE
Chair British Ceramic Biennial, Advisory Board Member National Centre for Academic & Cultural Exchange, Former Executive Director Crafts Council.
Rosy is a strong advocate of the value of creativity and the arts to society and spent her career in visual arts and wider cultural roles. She has served on advisory boards including the government’s Creative Industries Council and Creative Industries Trade Investment Board and is a former Chair of South London Gallery and President of the World Crafts Council.
Simon Freakley
Chair London Music Masters, Grange Park Opera and American friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Simon Freakley has been chief executive officer of management consulting firm Alix Partners since 2015. Long involved in philanthropic causes, Simon is a past chair of Dulwich Picture Gallery, and has been a trustee of English National Ballet and an adviser to the Arts Council.
Susannah Simons FRSA, AGSM
Trustee One Dance UK, PRS for Music Foundation, Council Member Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,
Susannah Simons is Editorial Director of Marquee TV, the Global Streaming platform for the performing arts. She is a previous Chair of the National Youth Dance Company, Governor of More House School and was on the advisory board of the Royal Ballet between 1998 and 2000.
Sir Vernon Ellis
Chair Live Music Now, Britten Pears Foundation, StopMS, New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture
Previously International Chairman at Accenture, Sir Vernon Ellis is a former Chair of the British Council (2010-16) and has had an extensive involvement in the arts and philanthropy. Vernon has chaired the boards of English National Opera, National Opera Studio, the Leeds International Piano Competition and Britten Pears Arts.
Victoria Robey CBE
Trustee Music Masters UK, Royal Philharmonic Society, Glyndebourne; Former Chair London Philharmonic Orchestra
Victoria Robey is Founder Director of Music Masters UK, an organisation begun in 2007 which aims to widen access to high-quality music education from early years to young adulthood, focussing on UK communities facing systemic inequality or disadvantage.
Rexford Tugwell, a founding member of FDR’s Brain Trust, addressing the Press
In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt formed a group of experts informally known as “The Brain Trust” to help educate him on the big questions of the day, reflect on the solutions to put in place and help devise and run his campaign for President. The name caught on and was used by the BBC for its famous 1940s Radio show, later transferred to television.
The members of our Brain Trust share our belief believe that continued education and support are key to help for the next generation of trustees and non-executives.