Having recently revealed an exciting 50th Anniversary Season, today Birmingham Repertory Theatre is thrilled to announce the appointment of seven new board members.
Local inequality campaigner Atif Ali, accountant Andrew Chiduku, lawyer Mike Hibbs, CEO Lucy Marcus, environmentalist Victoria Marsom, entrepreneur Brandon Relph and theatre producer Rachel Roussel-Tyson are welcome additions to the Board of Trustees.
Their diverse backgrounds, combined with an impressive array of expertise will help deliver The REP’s ambitious new artistic programme, under the new leadership of Rachael Thomas and Olivier Award-winning director Sean Foley.
Atif Ali (BEM) campaigns to reduce health inequalities and sits on several boards across the arts and culture, housing and grant-making sector. Raised in Birmingham and from a working-class background, Atif is keen to support young people from underrepresented backgrounds, and was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2021 Queens Birthday Honours list for services to the community in Birmingham during Covid-19.
Andrew Chiduku is currently the Head of Risk and Assurance at Reall Ltd. A proud citizen of Birmingham, Andrew is a qualified accountant with more than 15 years of experience in audit and risk management and has worked within the private, public and NGO sector in the UK, Africa, and Asia.
Mike Hibbs is a passionate advocate for Birmingham and a well-known employment law partner at Shakespeare Martineau. He has served on the board of arts charities for many years, is a past chair of Big Brum Theatre in Education Company, and a past board member of Ikon gallery as well as a current board member of DanceXchange. Mike was also involved in the Birmingham Book Festival and a judge in the Birmingham Young Poet Laureate of the Year Awards.
Lucy Marcus is the CEO of Marcus Venture Consulting is a board chair and non-executive director who is challenging conventional wisdom inside and outside the board room and has emerged as a strong voice helping to set the new agenda in boardrooms and companies around the world and her writing on boards, leadership, ethics and innovation have appeared around the globe. She brings a strong background in innovation, international business, and cross-sectoral experience, having worked in a number of sectors from software and biotech/medtech to cleantech and government, education and financial services.
Victoria Marsom has lived in Birmingham for over a decade and has more than 20 years of experience in managing large scale campaigns. Victoria is currently the Head of England at Friends of the Earth where she leads campaigns that fight climate and ecological emergencies. Some of her most successful previous work includes the Africa Liberal Network’s Women’s Leadership Programme for the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Brandon Relph is the CEO of Studio BE, a disruptive technology and production company based in Brighton. The 21 year-old is one of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs, and the world's chief youth specialist. He was formally the youngest CEO in the UK, for a year and a half, in his previous start-up. Brandon is a Global MBA candidate at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) and the co-host of the popular podcast, The Z-X Spectrum, which focusses on intergenerational views of technology, media and the digital space.
Rachel Roussel-Tyson was raised in Birmingham and studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She currently runs an NHS charity, raising funds for staff and patients, with a particular focus on supporting recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic. Prior to working for the NHS, she worked in theatre production for over 15 years and was responsible for delivering the international touring portfolio for the National Theatre.
Rachel Thomas, The REP’s Executive Director comments: “I am thrilled to welcome these outstanding individuals to The REP Board. They join us at a tremendously exciting and important time as we get back on our feet after an exceptionally challenging 18 months, and celebrate 50 years of our home on Centenary Square. Our new board members bring with them a passion for the city and The REP and a wealth of experience encompassing law, finance, disruptive technology and third sectors. These are all vital areas of expertise for the future of The REP, and I really look forward to working with them in the coming weeks and months”.
Sir Howard Panter, Chair of The REP comments: “I am delighted to welcome our new board members to The REP. As a theatre, we are already much loved by local audiences and firmly established with the community and on the cultural map of Birmingham and the UK. However, with the new talents, expertise, and experience of our new board members, The REP now has a unique opportunity to work even closer with our Birmingham community across a variety of wider sectors, share insights, take risks and continue to build Birmingham’s reputation as one of the best places for its diverse approach to the world of arts and culture”.
The new appointees were confirmed in July 2021. The existing board includes John Hornby, Liz James, Ayub Khan, Adrian Lester, David Meecham, Professor David Roberts and Jan Teo, with Sir Howard Panter as Chair. The new appointees will attend their first board meeting in September 2021.