ETT Announce Five New Trustees Joining Its Board

Today, during Trustees' Week, ETT (English Touring Theatre) announce the appointment of five new trustees joining its Board - Dr Saphié Ashtiany, Olivier Brémont, Rubi Gubara-Sannie, Sanj Surati and Rosie Stanbury. They join current trustees Dame Jenny Abramsky DBE, Dan Bates, Robert Delamere (Chair), Floriana Dezou, Paapa Essiedu, Olivia Highland, Renuka Venkatraman, Tara Wilkinson and Igor. With these new appointments ETT bolsters an exceptional group which continues to offer strategic guidance and support at a crucial moment for the company and the sector.

Robert Delamere, Chair of the Board, said today, "The past year has seen ETT produce celebrated and innovative work across theatre, film, podcasts and audio drama, whilst also working to ensure our trustees are truly representative of the nation we create for. With our newly announced trustees - Dr Saphié Ashtiany, Olivier Brémont, Rubi Gubara-Sannie, Sanj Surati and Rosie Stanbury - we further broaden and deepen the quality and experience of our trustees. We're thrilled to have such a formidable group join the company as we look to the future."

Dr Saphié Ashtiany, said, "ETT rightly has a preeminent reputation for the best in creative, imaginative productions both in the theatre and, increasingly, in the digital space. This is coupled with a real commitment to exploring the diversity of our communities and an inclusive idea of what we mean by being "English". As someone who came to England from a completely different culture, and having made my home and my social investment in our society, I am really excited at the opportunity of working with ETT to develop and deliver a strong vision for the future of our creative spaces."

Olivier Brémont, commented, "ETT occupies a unique space within contemporary arts and culture, enabling audiences nationally and internationally to experience and engage with new and classic works. I am proud to contribute my experience in the sports and entertainment sectors to support ETT in growing both its brand and audience reach. Both "live" and through new, innovative products to expand interest in theatre and demonstrate that ETT can be a positive force in the areas of societal change, diversity and inclusion."

Rubi Gubara-Sannie, said, "My combined experience and expertise in performing arts, learning and organisational development as well as my commitment to championing inclusion will support ETT in connecting with our most diverse communities and creating inclusive, innovative ways to represent the many voices within our society through the power of storytelling."

Sanj Surati, added, "I am truly moved to be approached by ETT to be part of their fantastic company as a trustee. It's been a dream for me to work in a creative institution to nurture new perspectives and ideas from the inside. I hope to offer a new and exciting approach to how we as humans make creativity an inclusive and important part of how we grow into new realms of theatre."

Rosie Stanbury, also commented, "It's such a vital moment to consider the role of theatre in national conversations, I'm looking forward to supporting ETT to think about approaches to audience engagement in the post-Covid environment."

Please find images here: https://we.tl/t-gvkMmaS37V

Iranian by background, Saphié Ashtiany has mostly lived and been educated in the UK. She is a recognised expert in equality and employment law with a deep passion for the arts and a strong belief in their importance in our society. She splits her time between arts organisations and those committed to social justice, working with a wide variety of organisations, ranging from the UN High Commission for Refugees to a major city law firm where she was the Head of the Employment and Equalities group. She has been an Equal Opportunities Commissioner, a director of Channel 4 Corporation, a director of the Oxford Playhouse and director and chair of the Equal Rights Trust.

She is currently a director and trustee of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and on the advisory council of the Welsh National Opera. She is also a trustee and chair of the Nationwide Foundation, which works for decent affordable secure homes, and a director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which works to eliminate destitution and economic precarity.

Olivier Brémont is a senior entertainment and sports marketing executive with over 20 years' global experience, working for high-profile international rights-holders, brands and agencies. He brings to ETT a combination of experiences in strategic commercial leadership, partnership sales and business development, partnership management and global event delivery. His career has spanned roles with brands including Red Bull and adidas, sports rights holders including Formula E and Volvo Ocean Race Chief Commercial Officer; World Wrestling Entertainment VP Commercial Operations Europe; Women's Tennis Association VP, Business Development and Strategy; UEFA Account Director and agencies including Infront VP, Business Development and Associate Director, Asia. He also has a track record building commercial propositions in partnership with sponsors, teams, venues and media platforms.

Rubi Gubara-Sannie has over 12 years' experience in organisational development and learning and has a passion to drive the creation of safe spaces for people to thrive, lead and grow at work. In her current role she provides strategic, inspirational and leadership expertise in relation to culture, values, leadership development, talent management as well as equality, diversity and inclusion. She has a degree in performing arts and uses her creative skills to engage with local communities and her colleagues by developing holistic, interactive interventions that increase engagement and Organisational performance. She is passionate about supporting people to grow in their leadership journey and unlocking their potential by helping them to achieve their career goals. In addition, she is dedicated to bringing about positive changes and creating an environment where all staff have a voice, feel listened to and can bring their authentic self to work. She believes everyone should be valued for who they are and what they can bring, and that difference should be celebrated and valued.

Sanj Surati is an award-winning multi-disciplined Digital Atelier with over twenty years of experience within the music, fashion and luxury industries. He has been working within digital and technology since 1998. He has seen the cultural shift in human habit and behaviour with the evolution of digital consumers. He started work in the music business as a musician, from there he started to help digital start-ups target music industry professionals during the shift of consumer habits from physical products to digital. He has worked with multiple luxury brands including Burberry, Gucci, Charlotte Tilbury, Christian Louboutin and BMW. He was also part of the team that delivered the 2Pac hologram at Coachella back in 2012 - this initiative won Titanium at the Cannes Lions and broke Digital PR Records faster than anything previously. As a creative, Surati is a stand-up comic, actor and musician.

Rosie Stanbury is Head of Public Programmes at Wellcome Collection, a free museum and library exploring health and human experience. In this role, she oversees the team delivering exhibitions, publications, public events, youth engagement and national arts partnerships. As part of the charity's Leadership team she also acts as internal sponsor for its Social Justice Curriculum, a professional and personal learning journey for all staff to develop anti-racist and anti-ableist thinking and practice. She originally joined Wellcome in 2006 as an events producer, working on the opening engagement programme for Wellcome Collection's launch in 2007. Subsequently she has worked in various roles across the organisation including holding oversite of its Arts Awards grants scheme. Throughout her career she has championed diverse perspectives, creative approaches to engagement and the role of audiences in the creation of programmes

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