Shriti will take up the role of RSC Chair at our AGM this Autumn when the current Chair, Nigel Hugill, steps down after ten years.

We were looking for a highly experienced, inclusive leader, committed to our vision, mission and values, and with a proven track record of leading an organisation through significant strategic transformation.  Candidates needed to demonstrate a deep appreciation for the power of theatre, education and culture to enrich society, and a proven commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion.

Shriti stood out in all of these areas. She was recently appointed Chair of Prudential plc and was previously Chair of Santander UK (the first woman to Chair a major British bank) and served on the Boards of Astra Zeneca and BHP.

She has more than 30 years of experience spanning both public and private sectors, domestically as well as internationally, and early in her career served as a Minister in the Cabinet Office and in the International Development and Business Departments. After leaving government she served as an adviser to the G20, and to governments across the globe.

Her areas of expertise include strategic change management, cross-cutting policy making and international negotiations. Shriti is a member of the House of Lords, on leave of absence since 2011. She will be the first female Chair and first person of colour to lead the RSC Board.

Shriti said: "I grew up in Uganda and India, in a traditional community where expectations of the development of girls were narrow and strict. I read and imagined Shakespeare before I saw it performed and it opened up a different world, giving me the courage to aspire to possibilities that transformed my life.

"I am passionate about the arts and the impact they can have on the lives of individuals and communities. I have long been a supporter of the RSC, a Company rooted in history and which is modern, innovative and dynamic, uniquely national but also global. It is a Company that is dedicated to the excellence of its art while being acutely aware of its wider roles and responsibilities. As the RSC emerges from one of its most difficult years, responding to the global pandemic, I am excited to be supporting and championing the RSC as its new Chair and to look to the future. It is a joy and an honour."