Royal Academy of Dance announces first new chief executive in 23 years

Former Virgin Money creative director Tim Arthur is to become chief executive of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) from March, replacing Luke Rittner, who is retiring after taking the post in 1999.

Arthur has also been global chief executive of Time Out and CEO of Cardboard Citizens, which creates theatre for and with homeless people.

He is also a former BBC Radio London presenter.

“I am incredibly excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to lead this wonderful organisation,” said Arthur.

“Over the last 100 years, the RAD has helped to change tens of thousands of lives around the world by introducing them to the transformative power and sheer joy of dance. The RAD has been a beacon of excellence, creativity, passion and inclusivity and my aim is to ensure that this continues long in to the future.”



The Academy’s chair Guy Perricone added: “We are delighted to welcome Tim Arthur as our new Chief Executive.  Finding a successor to Luke Rittner was always going to be very difficult given his huge contribution to the RAD.

“But, after conducting a long and thorough search, we saw that Tim’s unique blend of experience, his deep personal appreciation of the arts coupled with his strong financial and commercial acumen made him a standout candidate.

“This is a pivotal moment for the RAD as we enter into our new headquarters and into our second century. We are greatly looking forward to working with Tim as we consolidate and build on the success of recent years.”

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