Trustees of the V&A

Sir Paul Ruddock

V&A appointed: 3 May 2002; re-appointed: 3 May 2006.

Appointed Chairman 2007; re-appointed 2011.

Sir Paul is Chief Executive of Lansdowne Partners Limited, an investment management firm he co-founded in 1998. Previously he held various senior positions with Schroders PLC and its American subsidiary Schroder and Co. Inc. Prior to this he had worked at Goldman Sachs. He has an MA and BA (1st class) in jurisprudence from Oxford University and is a fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.

Sir Paul has been involved with the V&A since the mid 1990s. He has been a Trustee of the Museum since 2002 and was appointed Chairman of the V&A Board by the Prime Minister in 2007. He has served on a number of V&A committees including the British Galleries Committee and as Chair of the Trustees’ Finance and Development Committees. He is Chair of the Gilbert Trust for the Arts. He has been heavily involved in fundraising for the Museum and is himself a major donor having given personal donations of over £6 million over 15 years, including being the lead donor for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries.

Sir Paul’s philanthropic activities also include giving generous donations to the following: Medieval Europe Gallery at the British Museum; Gothic Ivories Project at the Courtauld Institute; Donmar Warehouse; Mousetrap Theatre Projects; Mansfield College, Oxford; National Trust; a new Performing Arts Centre at King Edward’s School, Birmingham; AfriKids.

Sir Paul is a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum, New York and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Sir Paul was awarded a knighthood for services to the arts and philanthropy in the New Year Honours List 2012.

Edwin Davies CBE

V&A appointed: 1 February 2007; re-appointed 1 February 2010

Eddie Davies was, until December 2006, Chairman of Strix, a leading manufacturer of electronic heating controls for kettles and other water-heating appliances. The company has won many prestigious export and innovation awards. It has factories in the UK and China and employs over 1,000 people. He was awarded an OBE in 2000 for services to industry and a CBE in 2012 for charitable services. He also holds directorships at Burnden Leisure plc and Bolton Wanderers Football Club Ltd. He is a prominent philanthropist and has supported a wide range of institutions such as the V&A, Manchester Business School, British Museum, Bolton Hospitals and the National Football Museum. He is also an important collector of Japanese cloisonné. He is a graduate (mathematics) of Durham University and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Andrew Hochhauser QC

V&A appointed: 20 April 2011

Andrew Hochhauser QC is a barrister at Essex Court Chambers, a Harmsworth scholar and Bencher of Middle Temple, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Recorder. He specialises in commercial and employment litigation, with a substantial court and advisory practice. Some more recent high-profile work has included acting for the FSA in Financial Services Compensation Scheme Ltd v Abbey National; representing celebrity chef Gary Rhodes against his former agents; the Dresdner Kleinwort bonus claims and in the high-profile battle between inter-dealer brokers; Tullett Prebon v BGC. He is also honorary Counsel to Westminster Abbey, and has recently obtained an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he specialised in British Modernism. He is the chairman of Dance Umbrella which mounts an annual Festival of international contemporary dance in London every autumn.

Stephen McGuckin

V&A appointed: 15 September 2008

Steve McGuckin is a Chartered Architect and Surveyor. He joined global programme management consultants Turner and Townsend plc in April 2009 and was appointed UK Managing Director in 2010. He began his career with architectural practice Grimshaw, thereafter was Director of Consulting at Mace Group, before joining Land Securities plc as Development Director.

Steve is a development and project management specialist in the infrastructure and property sectors.  His experience includes projects such as Waterloo International Eurostar Terminal, Terminal 5 at Heathrow, The London Eye, 20 Fenchurch St (The Walkie Talkie), The Great Court at The British Museum and currently, Crossrail and The Shard.

Steve has been advisor to the Natural History Museum (Darwin Phase II Project) and a member of the CABE 2012 Olympics Panel.

Michelle Ogundehin

V&A appointed: 15 September 2008; re-appointed 15 September 2011

Michelle Ogundehin has contributed to publications all over the world and is internationally renowned as an authority on interiors, style and design. She was appointed Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration in May 2004, consolidating a relationship with the magazine that started in 1997. At the 2011 PPA Awards, ELLE Decoration was awarded Specialist Consumer Magazine of the Year and Michelle was Highly Commended as Editor of the Year. She was made an Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments by the Government Equalities Office in 2009, and a director of the South Coast Design Forum in 2008. Trained as an architect at London's celebrated Bartlett School, and having worked in architectural offices in both London and New York, she began her journalistic career on the launch of Tate Art Magazine, followed by Blueprint Magazine, before being head-hunted to join ELLE Decoration in 1997. She also directs her own creative consultancy, MO:Studio (www.mostudio.co.uk), established in 2002.

Samir Shah OBE

V&A appointed: 6 December 2004; re-appointed: 6 December 2008

Samir Shah has been a leading figure in broadcasting for nearly 20 years. Since 1998 he has been Managing Director of Juniper Communications which specialises in making factual programmes and drama documentaries. Before this he was at the BBC as Head of Political Programmes (1994-1998) and Head of Current Affairs (1987-1994). He was a trustee of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture (2004-2006), and is a fellow of the Royal Television Society, Chair of the Runnymede Trust (1999-date) and a non-executive Director of the BBC (2006-to date). The University of Nottingham has appointed him to a Special Professorship in the Department of Post-Conflict Studies.

Sir John Sorrell

V&A appointed: 20 April 2011

John Sorrell set up his first business when he was 19 and during his career of more than 40 years he founded and ran, with his wife Frances, one of Europe’s biggest and most successful design businesses, Newell and Sorrell, chaired both of the UK’s public design bodies (the Design Council and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), originated and developed the London Design Festival and, again with Frances, set up the Sorrell Foundation, which works with young people to inspire their creativity. John was appointed CBE in 1996 and was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bicentenary Medal in 1998. He holds four Honorary Design Doctorates, an Honorary Design Fellowship, is an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2002 and of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2009. John was awarded a Knighthood in the 2008 New Year Honours List `for services to the Creative Industries’. His book, `Creative Island’ (2002), features inspired design from Great Britain. A new edition, `Creative Island II’, was published in October 2009.

Bob Stefanowski

V&A appointed: 15 September 2008; re-appointed 15 September 2011

Bob Stefanowski is a senior financial leader with over 25 years' experience in Corporate Finance and Private Equity. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of UBS Investment Bank. He joined UBS in December 2011 from 3i Group PLC where he was most recently Chairman and Managing Partner, Asia and the Americas. He was a member of 3i's senior leadership team responsible for the development of 3i's investment strategy across Asia and the Americas while sitting on 3i's Group Risk and Investment Committees. Previously, Bob was President and CEO of General Electric Corporate Finance Europe. Bob was appointed a Company Officer by the GE Board of Directors in 2006.  Bob has an MBA in Finance from Cornell University and is a visiting lecturer in Finance at Cambridge University, Imperial College and London Business School.

Dr Paul Thompson

V&A appointed: 1 September 2009 (ex officio)

Paul Thompson is Rector of the RCA. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Bristol, as well as master's and doctoral degrees from the University of East Anglia. Prior to his appointment at the RCA, Paul was Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Prior to his position at the Cooper-Hewitt, Paul was Director of the Design Museum in London, from 1992 to 2001, and before that, he was Curator of Contemporary Design there, from 1988 to 1992. From 1987 to 1988, Paul worked at the Design Council. Outside the world of galleries and museums, he has worked diligently to heighten awareness of the role design plays within an increasingly global society. In 2000 Paul Thompson was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Art for services to art and design education.

João Baptista

Appointed 28 November 2011

João Baptista has 30 years of international experience in IT, telecommunications, media and engineering, and has worked in most of the EU, the US, Brazil, China, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. João is currently CEO Northern and Central Europe, Chair of the Utilities Practice, and member of the Executive Committee at Logica plc. João joined Logica in 2008 from Portugal Telecom, where he was Board Director, Chairman and CEO of its international operations. Previously, João was Vice-President at Booz Allen Hamilton and, before that, Global Leader for Technology, Information, Communications and Entertainment at Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., and Managing Director and Head of the Media and Telecommunications Practice at Mercer Management Consulting (renamed Oliver Wyman). João has an MBA from Stanford University, having previously graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, and Energy Management. João has written numerous articles and conference papers on the communications industry and co-authored the book Grow to be Great, focusing on growth strategies (Free Press).

Mark Damazer CBE

Appointed 28 November 2011

Mark Damazer CBE is Master of St.Peter's College, Oxford. After studying history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, he was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard and Congressional Fellow in Washington D.C. He worked as a trainee broadcast journalist for ITN, and then at the BBC World Service, TV-am and BBC News. His roles at the BBC included Editor of the Nine O’Clock News, Editor of Television News, Head of Current Affairs, Head of Political Programmes and Deputy Head of the News Division. He was Controller of Radio 4 and Radio 7 (now Radio 4 Extra) from 2004 to 2010. He was awarded the CBE for services to broadcasting in 2011. He was International Vice Chairman of the International Press Institute and is a former board member of Mental Health Media. He is a Fellow of the Radio Academy.

Edmund de Waal OBE

Appointed 28 November 2011

Edmund de Waal is a potter and writer. He was apprenticed in Canterbury and read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Edmund's porcelain is in the collections of over thirty international museums and he has had numerous solo exhibitions. He has also written extensively on art and design, and his recent memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes has won several prizes. Edmund is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall and was appointed an OBE for services to art this summer.

Dame Theresa Sackler

Photograph by Joth Shakerley

Appointed 28 November 2011

Dame Theresa Sackler was a primary school teacher for seven years. She married Dr Mortimer D Sackler, KBE (who died in 2010) with whom she had three children. Theresa serves on the boards of several family pharmaceutical companies and devotes much of her time to various philanthropic activities including serving as a Trustee for a number of institutions. She travels extensively overseas and has an active interest in education and the arts/cultural sectors. Having studied horticulture, she also has a passion for gardens, nature and the environment.

Harold Tillman CBE

Appointed 28 November 2011

Harold Tillman CBE is a businessman with interests embracing fashion, retail, leisure and lifestyle in Britain and around the globe. He also has interests in the restaurant sector with his son. In 2003, Harold acquired the British fashion heritage brand Jaeger. In 2009 he added Aquascutum to his retail/fashion portfolio which also includes the Croydon based department store, Allders. Since February 2008, Harold has served as Chairman for the British Fashion Council, which is the fashion industry body responsible for London Fashion Week, the British Fashion Awards and numerous international and UK based schemes and activities aimed at raising the profile of British fashion design. He is an expert in Chinese/Anglo trade and has recently founded the China Britain Fashion Alliance to maximise opportunities for British designers in the region. Harold is committed to supporting and encouraging talent and believes this lies at the heart of business success. He has proved relentless in his support for the University of the Arts where he has been made an honorary fellow and for which he currently chairs the board of Alumni. In 2006, he bestowed a £1 million MA scholarship fund upon the London College of Fashion. In June 2010, Harold was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to the fashion industry.