New Chairman Appointed At UK's Leading Performing Arts School - ArtsEd

Kevin McGrath OBE, one of the country's most dedicated philanthropists known for his commitment to the arts and in transforming the lives of the underprivileged and those in need, has been appointed as the new Chairman to the Board at ArtsEd, the UK's most academically successful performing arts school.

Currently, Kevin's contribution to society incudes being the Founder and Chair of the McGrath Charitable Trust, the Chair of UNITED in Hammersmith and Fulham Charity, Trustee of The Old Vic Theatre, Vice Chair and co-founder of The Clink Prison Restaurant Charity - the first and only public restaurant to be built inside working British prisons, Co-Founder and Chair of The Islamix Foundation, and Vice Chair of the QPR Sport in the Community Trust, to name a few.

He is also an Ambassador for the Commonwealth Youth Enterprise Project, a London South Bank University Court Member, Honorary Vice President of the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra & Choir, Non-Executive Property Advisory Board Member of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Greater London, and Patron of Clean Break Charity and of The Forgiveness Project.

In 2016, Kevin was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for Services to Charities. He was also The High Sheriff of the County of Greater London in 2014-15 and is the Representative Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Kevin was awarded an Honorary Degree award of the Doctor of the University from the University of Surrey in 2017 in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the arts.

Kevin's arrival as Chair to the Board at ArtsEd is timely given that the organisation is about to enter its Centenary year - celebrating 100 years of delivering performing arts excellence across the UK.

Kevin McGrath OBE said:

"My passion lies in supporting programmes which provide young people with the opportunity to enhance their life chances and flourish. So, I am delighted to be joining the Board at ArtsEd and helping this diverse and outstanding organisation continue to deliver their world-class performing arts training across the UK and internationally. I am particularly keen to see through the £20million renewal of the ArtsEd building to provide world-leading accommodation for our students and the local community."

Chris Hocking said:

"We are immensely proud of having Kevin joint the Board at ArtsEd. His track record of success and contribution to the arts is extraordinary, as is his passion for transforming the lives of those who are underprivileged.

"Kevin's leadership across the Board will be integral in maintaining our reputation as the highest-ranking performing arts school in the United Kingdom - and consistently sitting in the top five schools and colleges for creative education in the UK."

Kevin McGrath is also Founder and Executive Chairman of M&M Asset Management and Non-Executive Chairman of Regional REIT Plc; and was previously Managing Director, and Senior Adviser of F&C REIT Asset Management.

Prior to F&C REIT, Kevin was a founding equity Partner in REIT Asset Management, a property investment, finance, and asset management partnership, which managed a global commercial property portfolio.

Previous to REIT, Kevin was Senior Investment Surveyor with Hermes Investment Management, the Fund Manager for the British Telecommunication and Post Office Pension Schemes. Before that he worked for various local authorities in a variety of property related positions. And prior to that he worked in manufacturing and banking.

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