AIM appoints new trustees

Following approval at the Annual General Meeting and after a successful and competitive recruitment round, four new Trustees have joined the AIM Board.

At the AGM Andrew Lovett OBE, AIM Chair expressed the thanks of the Board to Brian Gorski and Claire Browne for their many years’ work as they step down and confirmed Rhiannon Goddard as AIM Deputy Chair.

The new appointments who join AIM Board meetings from July onwards are:

Alex Ratcliffe

Alex is Head of Change Strategy & Implementation at the Department for Business & Trade. Prior to this position and following roles in Higher Education, Alex worked in DCMS during the Covid-19 pandemic as the Private Secretary to the Minister responsible for museums and heritage organisations. Alex was part of the team that designed and implemented the Culture Recovery Fund. Alex has considerable experience of engaging with senior level stakeholders, and negotiating between MPs, ministers, organisations, and government departments.

Philip Dolling 

Formerly Head of BBC Events (2012 – 2019) Philip was responsible for the strategic direction and overall management of the BBC’s live broadcast operations, covering major national occasions. Philip has experience of chairing and contributing effectively to committees at the highest level and has worked closely with DCMS, Cabinet Office, MOD, and the Royal Communications Team. More recently, his role as a Trustee with the National Museum of the Royal Navy has given him a first-hand understanding of the challenges of running a major operation during Covid-19 and how to deal with the issues arising from the tough economic climate. Philip also brings a thorough training in many areas of the law, marketing, rights, negotiation, and digital security.

Dr Laura Crossley FRSA

Based in Lancashire, Laura is currently a freelance consultant, and has worked in museums for over a decade. Laura has a strong understanding of the needs of freelancers and the potential opportunity for AIM to champion this area of the sector. Laura has experience of strategic thinking and planning, both from senior in-house roles – most recently as Director of London Historic Buildings Trust (LHBT) and as Head of Content at National Football Museum (NFM) – and freelance consultancy. Laura has an excellent awareness and understanding of the independent museum and heritage sector, having largely worked in and with independent organisations, including in-house roles at Sheringham Museum and NFM. As a freelancer, Laura has worked with several independent museums, including Cambridge Museum of Technology, Stained Glass Museum, Wells Maltings, Long Shop Museum, Crewe Heritage Centre, and British Schools Museum.

Christine Bernath 

Based in London, Christine is Defence and Regimental Museums Partnerships Manager at the National Army Museum (NAM) and has 11-years’ experience of working within the regimental museum sector across the breadth of the UK. Christine works with regimental and corps museums serving as their primary point of contact for any support they require from NAM. Christine was formerly a Trustee of the Army Museums Ogilby Trust and has served as an active member of the Association of Scottish Military Museums, a founding member of the Wales and West Army Museums Network, and Chair of the Southern Army Museums Network. Since joining military museums, Christine was inspired to sign-up as an Army Reservist to better understand some of the inner workings of the military.

Pictured left to right: Alex Ratcliffe, Christine Bernath, Laura Crossley and Philip Dolling.