UK-Russia Cultural Leadership Academy

Lucy Shaw is the Founder and Director of Cultural Associates Oxford (CAO). She is a cultural entrepreneur, who specialises in strategic leadership, organisational change, workforce diversity, and inclusive engagement with the creative industries. In addition to leading CAO, Lucy works for the University of Oxford, where she is Programme Director for Oxford Cultural Leaders (OCL) – an international executive leadership programme for the creative and cultural sectors, which she designed and created in 2015 in partnership with colleagues from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The programme focuses on blending knowledge, expertise and insights from across both the corporate and creative sectors to create an immersive and life-changing experience for participants. OCL focusses on developing entrepreneurial and creative leaders and includes robust themes around governance and organisational change.  She is also part of a university research team exploring the changing expectations and demands of cultural and creative leadership and is co-author of The Museum Leaders’ Report. Lucy is passionate about good governance within the creative industries and is Chair of Neon Dance, an internationally renowned company which experiments with the intersection between digital and art and is also a trained performance coach and action learning set facilitator.

Miki Lentin is a strategic creative consultant with over twenty years of experience across the public and private sectors. With a background in communications, Miki now works with a variety of cultural and creative clients on audience development, community engagement, strategic planning, communications and branding.  He led CAO’s team on the development of the British Council’s Creative Economy Guide, working closely with the UK Creative Economy Team as well as British Council colleagues around the world. He also manages CAO’s cultural development programme for Buckinghamshire Culture, a programme to support the development of cultural leadership which has taken place online during the pandemic. Until recently he was Head of Corporate Affairs at the UK’s national library, the British Library, with responsibility for communications, marketing, video and broadcast, digital content and brand. Miki has a keen interest in the role cultural organisations have as neighbours within their cities and communities. This led to his creation of London’s leading innovation district, the ‘Knowledge Quarter’. He is a faculty member of Oxford Cultural Leaders, a mentor to cultural and creative organisations where he leads peer networking programmes through action learning sets, and volunteers for the Refugee Council and the refugee charity Breaking Barriers.

Dr Pegram Harrison is a Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Pegram’s research and teaching concerns entrepreneurship and leadership particularly in cultural contexts. He advises business on development and strategy from large-sale multi-nationals to SME’s, and his current research is focused on exploring new business models for the cultural and creative industries, with a focus on the regenerative economic potential of CCIs. Pegram teaches entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy and heritage management to executives and Diploma students, as well as on the MBA and undergraduate programmes. He also conducts research at the intersection of business and social issues, and on projects relating to business education, particularly for women entrepreneurs in Muslim communities. He has worked as a strategy consultant around the world for both public and private sector organisations, as well as for governments in both developed and developing countries and is a founder member of the Pan European Entrepreneurship Research Group, an association of researchers based at Paris-Dauphine University who work on European entrepreneurship and higher education.

Dr Maurice Davies is a cultural consultant who leads, supports and develops museums, arts and heritage organisations, and the people who work for them to increase their effectiveness. He is a skilled and engaging facilitator and mentor. Maurice has board-member and advisory-committee experience for dozens of organisations in the museum and cultural sector. As well as his extensive consultancy, advisory and research work he has been Head of Collections at the Royal Academy of Arts, Deputy Director of the Museums Association, Editor of the Museums Journal and a curator at Manchester Art Gallery and Tate. He is a senior research fellow in the Business School at King’s College London. Maurice also sits on the National Trust’s Collections and Interpretation Advisory Group and their Inclusive Histories Working Group and until recently was a member of the board of the Happy Museum Project.

Caitlin Griffiths is a cultural consultant who has worked in the sector for over 20 years, developing a specialist expertise in designing and delivering mentoring programmes. As a consultant for the last 11 years Caitlin has worked for a number of key sector agencies including Arts Council England, the National Heritage Lottery Fund, the Museums Association and the Art Fund. Much of Caitlin’s work has been in the area of leadership development and supporting individuals and organisations through change. She also has a strong interest in workforce development and has been involved in a number of sector wide research projects into this area which have shaped sector policy. She is passionate about supporting the development of those working in creative and cultural sectors. She is a mentor herself and has recently developed and managed a peer mentoring programme for audience engagement practitioners.

Dr Helen Wilkinson works as a cultural consultant alongside her role as Business Transformation Director for the Council for British Archaeology, where she is leading a change programme to increase the organisation’s relevance and resilience, including digital transformation. She was previously Assistant Director of the Association of Independent Museums, delivering a major programme of support for small and medium-sized heritage organisations. She has particular experience of supporting organisations with governance issues and with practical training, including supporting organisations to pivot to digital delivery during the pandemic.  With 25 years’ experience in the cultural sector, Helen has delivered consultancy projects focusing on policy development, professional development and organisational change for organisations ranging from small, local organisations to national UK bodies.