Birmingham Hippodrome boss among new ACE members

Four members have been appointed to Arts Council England (ACE) by Culture Secretary LISA NANDY.

GRACE CHAN, JONATHAN DOUGLAS and JO VERRENT were appointed to four-year terms at the funding body’s National Council on 1 December, while JON GILCHRIST will begin his four-year stint on 15 May 2026.

As artistic director and chief executive of Birmingham Hippodrome, Gilchrist leads one of the West Midlands’ largest cultural organisations. Before this, he was executive director of HOME in Manchester, executive director of the Bush Theatre in West London, and also previously worked in venues including the Lowry in Salford, the Octagon Theatre Bolton, and the Dukes in Lancaster.

He was joint president of UK Theatre from 2022 to 2025, and has been a trustee for organisations including the Edge Theatre in Manchester.

Since 2007, Douglas, who was awarded a CBE in 2020 for services to education,
has been the chief executive of the National Literacy Trust. He started his career as a Children’s Librarian in Westminster Libraries and was previously head of policy development at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

An FCA chartered accountant, Chan has spent her professional career in financial leadership within the charity and performing arts sector.

She joined English National Ballet as chief operating officer in 2016 and has previously held posts at the Royal Opera House, National Theatre, and London Theatre Company.

Verrent is director of National Portfolio Organisation Unlimited, commissioning disabled artists to challenge and change the cultural sector, which works with partners including Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, and the British Council.