Curtain comes down on Hippodrome boss, while Mark Smith also exits stage left

THE Birmingham Hippodrome is set to bid farewell to two of its stalwarts.

Today (Friday) marks the last day in office for chief executive Stuart Griffiths, while the chairman of the theatre’s Development Trust, Mark Smith is also stepping down.

Since heading up the Hippodrome in 2002, Griffiths has successfully turned the venue into the single most popular theatre in the whole of the UK, with admissions last year exceeding 625,000.

Griffiths, a former winner of TheBusinessDesk.com’s West Midlands Business Ambassador title, has also firmly established the theatre as a centre for dance, co-producing the award-winning International Dance Festival Birmingham since 2008 with Hippodrome resident partners, DanceXchange.

Smith, who is PwC’s Midlands Regional Chairman and head of the firm’s Birmingham office, is relinquishing his role after nine years with the trust – six of them as chair.

Griffiths’ distinguished career in regional theatre management also included ten years as chief executive of the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe. He is also chair of UK touring producer Music & Lyrics, and co-chair of international dance promoter The Dance Consortium. He is a council member of Arts Council England (Midlands).
 
He is leaving to be Programming Director for Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG).

John Crabtree, chair of Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust, said: “I know I join many Hippodrome supporters in my praise and admiration for Stuart who has grown the theatre beyond all our expectations.  His knowledge and expertise in the sector, along with his inspirational leadership and ambition, has been of unparalleled benefit to artists, audiences and participants, and for the city’s wider cultural reputation.”

Griffiths said: “I feel hugely privileged to have had the opportunity to work with a fantastic team at Birmingham Hippodrome for over twelve years which have been the most exciting and rewarding of my career. I have been very lucky to have been generously supported throughout that time by wonderful colleagues and Trustees.”

His successor as chief executive is Fiona Allan, who will take up the post later this year.  She is currently chief executive of Leicester Curve and previously worked in both the Wales Millennium Centre and Sydney Opera House.

Mark Smith, regional chairman at PwC in the MidlandsIn one of his last duties before departing, Griffiths said: “Mark (Smith – pictured) has been an incredibly active chair of our Development Trust, galvanising support across the city for our various projects.  Through his passion for theatre and his highly respected work in the business community, Mark played a key part in raising £1m towards our successful 2012 Stage Appeal.  This major project saw the Hippodrome stage replaced after 30 years of performances, securing our future for a whole new generation of theatre-goers.

“I would like to thank Mark for his dedication and valuable fundraising advice, and I know that his continued contribution as a Trustee of the Hippodrome Theatre Trust will be of huge benefit.”

Taking over the role of Development Trust Chair is Martin Guest, managing director of the Birmingham office of property consultant CBRE.

Guest has worked in Birmingham and the Midlands for over 25 years, and has advised on some of the city’s most significant new developments including Snowhill, Arena Central and Paradise. He was the founding chairman of the Birmingham Office Market Forum, has chaired the Office Agents Society and is a local committee member of the Urban Land Institute. He first joined Birmingham Hippodrome Development Trust as a Trustee in 2011.  

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