Who's who
The Royal Ballet and Opera employs over 1,100 permanent staff. Led by Chief Executive Alex Beard CBE the departmental staff support the work of the Royal Ballet and Opera artistic companies, The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and all staff are dedicated to nurturing, creating and sharing astonishing, world-class opera, ballet and theatre craft.
The Royal Ballet and Opera Departments include Audiences and Commercial, Development and Advocacy, Estates and Facilities, Finance, Learning and Participation, Operations, Information Technology, Human Resources, Visitor Experience and Technical, Production and costume.
The Royal Ballet and Opera is also supported by the Board of Trustees, and other associated committees.
Patron
HM The King
Hon. Vice-President
Dame Vivien Duffield DBE
Hon. Vice-President
Sir Simon Robey
Chief Executive
Sir Alex Beard CBE
Board of Trustees
Chair of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Sir Lloyd Dorfman CVO CBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Zeinab Badawi
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Caroline Britton
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Lord Browne of Madingley
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Baroness Deborah Bull CBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Tim Bunting
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Lisa Burger CBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Philipp Freise
Trustee of The Royal Ballet and Opera
Farah Golant CBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Sir Nicholas Hytner
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Dan Ison
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Stephen Lucas
Trustee of The Royal Ballet and Opera
Dame Carolyn McCall OBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Alan Stanton OBE
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Joanna Streeten
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Alistair Summers
Trustee of the Royal Ballet and Opera
Janis Susskind OBE
Executive Office†
Chief Executive †
Head of CEO Office
Lucinda Sherriff
Chief Transformation Officer
Rebecca Saunders
Interim Chief People Officer
Suzanne Peacock
Audiences and Commercial
Chief Commercial Officer
Sophie Wybrew-Bond
Head of Content (RBO Studios)
Will Richmond
Audiences Director
Ella Lewis-Collins
Communications Director
Chloe Westwood
Head of Corporate Affairs
Eli Barrott
Head of Ballet Press
Ashley Woodfield
Head of Opera Press
Ruth Haines
Head of Digital Products and Analytics
Jake Phillips
Director of Partnerships
Madeleine Morrison
Head of Partnerships
Beth Hitchcock
Head of Retail
Matthew Hunt
Development, Advocacy and Public Policy
Chief Development and Advocacy Officer
Amanda Saunders
Deputy Chief Development Officer
Alice Whitaker
Philanthropy Director
David Spinola
Events Director
Caroline Dalziel
Director of Policy and Strategy
Mark Heholt
Membership Director
Laura Hayward
Head of Philanthropy
Rebecca Regan
Head of Events
Catherine Martin-Jones
Head of Finance, Development and Advocacy
Samantha Kendall
Head of Endowment Funding and Legacy Programmes
Katherine Hudson
Head of Research, Data and Compliance
Brian Kerr
Finance, Legal and Business Affairs
Chief Financial Officer
Mindy Kilby
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Leah Hurst
Head of Management Accounts
Catherine Fisher
Head of Procurement
Michael Casartelli
Senior Financial Analyst
Amy Carew
Financial Controller
John Tozer
Human Resources
Head of Employee Relations, Policy & Reward
Steven Foulston
HR Services & Data Manager
Polly Dufton
Apprenticeships Manager
Sarah Waterman
Internal Communications Manager
Catherine O’Reilly
Recruitment Manager
Emma Davies
Learning & Development Manager
Aimie Sharp
Volunteer Programme Manager
Georgia Sinclair
Head of People Partnering and Operations
Genevieve Phillips
Safeguarding Manager
Gaynor Evans
Learning and Participation
Director of Learning and Participation††
Jillian Barker
Learning and Participation Operations Director
Alexandra Hensby
Head of Collections
Julia Creed
Head of RBO Schools
Kelly Matthews
Learning and Participation Head of Opera
Tom Floyd
Learning and Participation Head of Ballet
Ruby Wolk
Learning and Participation Head of Public Engagement
Emma Head
Operations
Chief Operating Officer
Heather Walker
Head of Planning
Kate Rooney
Technical Estate Renewal Programme Lead
Musa Halimeh
Operations PMO Manager
Florence Roxburgh
Information Technology
Director of Information Technology
Tracey McNulty
Head of IT Operations
Andrew Burwood
Estates and Engineering
Estates Director
Max Elmes
Head of Estates Support Services
Eileen Restall
Environmental Manager
Rachael O’Sullivan
Technical, Production and Costume
Director of Technical, Production and Costume
Emma Wilson
Deputy Director
Will Harding
Assistant Director (Technical)
Stuart Robertson
Assistant Director (Operations)
Nicole Richardson
Assistant Director (Costumes and Wigs)
Sarah Bowern
Senior Finance Business Partner
John Bernasko
Administration Manager
Amy Clarey
Head of Technical Operations and Logistics
Peter Sullivan
Head of Stage
Rob Melhuish
Deputy Head of Stage
Mark Loader
Head of Lighting
Jack Champion
Lighting Production Senior Managers
Matthew Mulberry, Allan Ramsay, Theo Sanders, Billy Slocombe
Stage Production Senior Managers
Elliot Blackwell, Billy Mardon, Amos O'Neill, Gary Whiffen
Senior Stage Managers
Johanna Adams Farley (Ballet), Emma Turner (Opera)
Stage Managers
Jonathan Harden, Ellie Williams, Sarah Woodward
Duty Team Senior Manager
Jonathan Turner
Duty Team Managers
Sean Faherty, Ged Kelly, Sean Thornton
Flys Senior Manager
Des Dunne
Running Props Manager
Richard Webb
Build Crew Manager
Terry Rex
Engineering Manager
Barry Lynam
Sound, Video and Broadcast Manager
Edward Ferguson
Lighting Systems Manager (Acting)
Thomas Cockerham
Lighting Control and Visualisation Manager
Jamie Vella
Follow Spots Manager
Rachel Walsh
Linbury Manager
Thomas Thompson
Events Manager
Damien Child
Senior Production Manager
Simon Khamara
Production Managers
Luke Child, Andrew Jameson, Emily Moran-Seekings, Clíona Ní Mhocháin, Sarah O’Connor, Ian Smith
Scenic Construction Senior Manager
Mark Pursey
Scenic Painters Senior Manager
Emma Troubridge
Production Props Senior Manager
Antony Barnett
Armoury Manager
Max Brown
Draughting and Design Studio Manager
Claire Meakin
Head of Costume Production
Elizabeth King
Senior Costume Production Manager
Ilaria Martello
Costume Production Managers
Lizzie Barker, Nikki Bird, Victoria James, Giuseppina Coviello
Costume Performance Senior Manager
Adrian Villasenor
Men's Workroom Manager
Jane Dalgarno
Ladies’ Workroom Managers
Anna Graham, Sarah Satchell
Revival Workroom Manager
Amanda Hall
Hats and Jewellery Manager
Janet Steiner
Dyes Workshop Manager
Parveen Banga
Costume Logistics and Hires Manager
Rosie Blackshaw
Footwear Managers
Jane Latimer (Ballet), Jessica Smith (Opera)
Visitor Experience
Visitor Experience Director
Samantha Potts
Senior Front of House Manager
Adam Holgado
Senior Box Office Manager
Jon Burns
Customer Services Manager
Graham Boland
Visitor Experience Operations Manager
James Waterhouse
Tours Manager
Marie Deane
Front of House Managers
Jess Clark, Jai Channa, Salvatore Scalzo
†Office of the Chief Executive generously supported by Bob and Tamar Manoukian
††The Office of Director of Learning and Participation generously supported by The Mohn Westlake Foundation
This page was last updated June 2026 and all names and titles are accurate at the time of publishing.