Job Ladder – Robert O’Dowd

Chief Executive, Rose Theatre Kingston (2011 – Present)

I joined the Rose in its fourth year. Since opening, the Rose had been producing critically acclaimed plays, but had struggled to make the business model work. I was to work alongside the Artistic Director to continue to produce great theatre but also to ensure financial stability.

In my four years at the Rose we have transformed the way we operate, with a new producer-led model and a more focused fundraising department. We have become a building and a business that embraces the community it is in, working very pro-actively with our two main stakeholders: the Royal Borough of Kingston and Kingston University.

While I have worked in the arts previously, the Rose is the first theatre that I have run and – although there may be many in the sector who do not want to hear me say this – it is a business that needs running as a business. My obsession is that the Rose is a ‘performance business’; a statement where the two words have equal statue. There is no point having great theatre if there is not a viable business and conversely we will not be a successful business without world-class theatre.

Many thought I would dumb the Rose down – far from it. I have actively encouraged bigger, bolder and better work, because that is what we have to stand for. We have or will soon work with great directors, including Trevor Nunn, Jeremy Herrin, John Malkovich and Michael Rudman. My aim in the coming years is to continue to build on this and to drive up all revenue sources so that we can become a landmark theatre in the London scene.

Chief Executive, Designs of the Time (2005 – 2011)

Designs of the Time was a Design Council initiative that was created and funded to expand the perception of design within the regions of Britain. The heart of what we did was to co-design solutions to social and economic issues with citizens.

The first project was called Dott 07 and was based in the North East of England. We secured over £6m in funding from the regional development agency and the Design Council and ran a three-year project showing how design can influence every day issues, such as sexual health, low-carbon living, dementia, rural transport, and productive urban landscapes, to name but a few.

It was my first encounter with the public sector and all that it entails. It was a testament to the work we did that five of the eight project outcomes were taken up by either central government or national bodies.

The second Dott was in Cornwall. The UK was deep in recession so we had to source our funding from various clients and funding bodies. The majority of the funding came from Europe and it was a real eye opener to see how these funds were distributed and managed. Dott Cornwall had some great outcomes, not least of which was the setting up of Policy Lab in the Cabinet Office.

Group Enterprise Director, GWR Radio and Classic FM (1994 – 2003)

I spent a glorious ten years helping to set up Classic FM, launching its record label, magazine and concerts. I spent my last five years running the record labels and all outdoor concerts for the GWR group of pop radio stations. Heady days!