Birmingham Hippodrome welcomes four new trustees
Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust has welcomed four new trustees to board.
Jacqui O’Hanlon, Dr Justin Varney-Bennett, Ranjit Dhindsa and Rob Valentine took up their roles on the 1 January.
Jacqui O’Hanlon is a leading cultural learning specialist, passionate about equitable access to high quality arts learning.
She is director of Creative Learning and Engagement at the RSC, leading its work with schools, universities, young people, communities and partner theatres across the UK and around the world.
Birmingham-born Jacqui has chaired the Cultural Learning Alliance and currently chairs a school governing body.
She was appointed as a commissioner for the Durham Commission in Creativity in Education and has an MBE for services to the arts. J
Dr Justin Varney-Bennett is an experienced public sector leader and is now regional director of Public Health for the South West of England.
He has been director of Public Health for Birmingham City Council, National Lead for Adult Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England, and Thinker in Residence at the University of Sydney.
A Birmingham resident, Justin has a special interest in lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans health inequalities and in domestic violence as a public health issue.
Ranjit Dhindsa is the office leader for European Law firm Fieldfisher’s Birmingham office.
Ranjit leads the UK Employment, Pensions, Immigration and Compliance practice, which operates across London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Belfast.
In this role, Ranjit runs the Inclusion and Culture Consultancy, providing comprehensive services to clients focused on fostering inclusive and resilient workplaces.
Ranjit is a special adviser to Miss Macaroon, the Birmingham-based social enterprise that reinvests profits into training programmes for young people and is an Ambassador for Women on Boards.
Rob Valentine is Bruntwood SciTech’s regional lead for the West Midlands – the UK’s largest provider of office, lab, scientific services and specialist support for the science, tech and innovation sectors.
Rob specialises in facilitating collaborative partnerships between the private sector, local authorities, research institutions and universities to create world-class innovation districts and to drive strategic growth.
Birmingham Hippodrome chair, Catherine Mallyon, said: “Voluntary trustee roles are essential in setting and supporting the strategic direction of the Hippodrome and delivering those ‘goosebump moments’ through our on and off stage performances and programmes.
“We are excited about the wealth of new experience that Jacqui, Justin, Ranjit and Rob bring, combined with their collaborative and thoughtful approach to work, and the whole team looks forward to working together with them over the coming years.”
