Arts & Business Cymru reveals its new chief executive

Laura Drane will succeed Rachel Jones who is standing down after 30 years in the role.

Charity Arts & Business Cymru has appointed Laura Drane as its new chief executive.

The charity, which brings together the worlds of business and the arts, has also published new figures showing it work generates an estimated £1m of private sector support for the arts in Wales each year.

Around half of that annual contribution is direct financial investment, with the remainder provided through business expertise, skills and in-kind support.

Ms Drane will succeed Rachel Jones who will stand down as chief executive in November after 30 years in the role.

She brings more than 25 years’ experience as a facilitator, producer and consultant, having delivered more than 120 contracts across the UK and internationally. She spent three years in a senior role at Arts Council of Wales, where she had strategic input into its £29.6m revenue funding review and led sector review and development work.

She has also worked with the Audience Agency on research informing proposals for a Culture Bill in Wales and co-founded What Next? Cardiff/Cymru, which brings the cultural sector together to engage with and influence public policy.

A&B Cymru currently works with more than 180 arts members and over 50 business members across Wales, from individual practitioners and sole traders to national arts institutions and multinational companies.

Its CultureStep investment programme alone has helped leverage almost £5m of private sector investment into the arts since 2014, supporting almost 350 partnerships involving more than 250 businesses and reaching communities in every local authority area in Wales.

Speaking about her priorities the incoming chief executive said: “Welsh businesses are missing a huge opportunity if they see supporting the arts simply as philanthropy or sponsorship. The strongest partnerships deliver on both sides, bringing vital investment, skills and expertise into the arts while helping businesses develop their people, strengthen their profile, reach communities and connect with creativity and innovation.

“For businesses, this is also about investing in your people. Arts organisations need strong board members with commercial skills, and those roles give “Rachel, the team and board have built a fantastic foundation over the past 30 years.

” My job now is to build on that, respond to the changing cultural and economic landscape in Wales and bring more people together across business, the arts and, increasingly, heritage. I want A&B Cymru to help organisations develop the skills, partnerships and resilience they need for the future.”

Ms Jones said: “It’s been an absolute honour and a joy to lead A&B Cymru for the last three decades. I’ve seen an increasing number of businesses recognise that working with the arts isn’t simply about giving something back.

” The best partnerships create genuine value on both sides, bringing much-needed investment, skills and expertise into the arts while helping businesses engage their people, reach communities and address their own objectives in creative ways.

“I’m enormously proud of what A&B Cymru has achieved and grateful for the trust placed in me by our board, supporters and members. I’m genuinely excited for the organisation as it enters a new chapter under Laura’s leadership. At a time when both the arts and business communities face significant challenges, its work has never been more crucial.”