Leadership change at Magic Me

SUSAN LANGFORD, director of Tower Hamlets-based arts charity Magic Me, has announced her retirement after 36 years with the company.

Langford founded the intergenerational arts charity in 1989. The organisation has worked across London and Essex by bringing younger and older people together through creative activities.

A statement from the company says Langford’s pioneering work has reached thousands of participants, from primary school pupils to centenarians.

“Her impact has been astonishing: we salute her vocation and dedication, and look forward to giving her a celebratory send-off in due course,” the statement adds.

Langford’s successors are KATE HODSON, the charity’s current programme director and BEN BUTCHER, current head of operations. They will become joint CEOs.

Appointed after an internal recruitment process, the pair have a combined ten years of senior leadership experience at Magic Me.

Chair of trustees DAVID RUSSELL thanked Langford for her “imaginative leadership and tireless stewardship of the organisation over the last three and a half decades.” 

“Political, financial and public health contexts have changed hugely over the years, but through it all, her unwavering belief in the creative imaginations of people of all ages and abilities has enabled an astonishing body of work to flourish,” Russell added.

“She leaves Magic Me in a robust condition, ready to take on a new generation of challenges and opportunities.”