Paul Thompson (arts administrator)

Paul Thompson

CBE FRSA

Chair of the British Council

Incumbent

Assumed office
January 2024
Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art
In office
September 2009 – April 2024
Preceded by| Sir Christopher Frayling
Personal details
Born|  (1959-08-09) 9 August 1959 (age 65)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Alma mater| University of Bristol
University of East Anglia

Paul Warwick Thompson CBE FRSA (born 9 August 1959) is the current Chair of the British Council.[1] He was Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art from 2009 to 2024.[2]

Thompson was educated at Bryanston School, the University of Bristol (BA) and the University of East Anglia (MA, PhD).[3]

Thompson worked as a scriptwriter and researcher for the Design Council 1987–88. He then joined the Design Museum as curator of contemporary design and from 1993 to 2001 was its director.[3]

During 2001–09, Thompson was director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, USA. In 2009, he took up his post at the Royal College of Art.[4] He was a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, from 2009-2023,[5] and was on the board of visitors of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford from 2013-2019.[6] He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Universities UK from 2020-2023.[7]

He is a member of the Wellcome Collection Programme Advisory Committee at the Wellcome Trust, London. He is an adjunct professor at Imperial College's Institute for Global Health Innovation. He co-directs the Helix Centre with Professor Lord Ara Darzi.[8] Since 2020 he has been a member of the Board of Trustees, Creative UK.[9]

He was awarded a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in June 2024 for services to the Arts.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ [1] Dr Paul Thompson appointed British Council Chair, 05 Sep 2023
2. ^ "Dr Paul Thompson to step down as Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art in 2024".
3. ^ a b Paul Warwick Thompson, Director Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Archived 2007-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, Smithsonian Institution, October 2001
4. ^ "Dr Paul Thompson Becomes Rector of the Royal College of Art".
5. ^ "Board of Trustees Minutes".
6. ^ "Dr Paul Thompson's LinkedIn".
7. ^ "Dr Paul Thompson's LinkedIn".
8. ^ "The Helix team".
9. ^ "Creative UK: Meet our CEO & board".
10. ^ "Cabinet Office Transparency data: Birthday Honours List 2024 PM List".

## External links

[edit]

* Dr Paul Thompson, Chair of the British Council Board of Trustees

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