A person wearing a black polo shirt with a gold Brighton Dome logo on it

Our board and staff

We are very proud of our amazing staff here at Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival. Every member of the team (of which there are over 300) brings energy, enthusiasm and skill to all that we do and we are extremely grateful to them for their unfailing dedication. 

We are also very grateful to our Board of Trustees who give their time and expertise so generously on a voluntary basis. 

I wanted to let you know just how fantastic your staff are, in every area. Brighton Dome should be really proud of the team that they have working for them. I don’t think I’ve seen a venue where everyone is working at such a high standard anywhere else before.

Audience Member, Mar 2019

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival

Andrew Comben

Chief Executive

Originally from Australia, Andrew joined Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival as Chief Executive in 2008, having previously worked in the arts in the UK since 1993, and in senior leadership roles at Wigmore Hall (Head of Artistic Planning) and Britten Pears Arts  (Director, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme). At BDBF he has established the annual Guest Director model for Brighton Festival (with artists such as Anish Kapoor, Laurie Anderson, Kae Tempest, David Shrigley and Lemn Sissay), has overseen the expansion of the organisation’s work with communities and young people (including the operation of Create Music across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex) and the restoration and redevelopment of the Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre into world class spaces for the performing arts.

Board of Trustees

Danny Homan

Chair (& Patron)

Danny Homan has over 20 years of experience within the culture and heritage sectors. Recent senior leadership roles include Chief of Staff at The Big Lottery Fund where he was responsible for strategy and governance across the charity and Communication and Development Director at Historic Royal Palaces in London. Danny lives in Hove and London and has been a BDBF Trustee since 2014. He is Chair of the Board and sits on the Finance Committee.  

Judah Armani

Trustee

Judah Armani lives in Brighton and is Head of Social Impact Challenge Lab at The Royal College of Art. He founded Public Service Design that creates initiatives of social impact such as InHouse Records UK, the world’s first record label to be launched in a prison and run by prisoners. He is also a senior researcher at Central St Martin’s Design Against Crime Team and a visiting fellow at Rhode Island School of Design’s Centre for Complexity.  He has been a Trustee since September 2019 and is the Board Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. .

Sue Baxter

Trustee

Sue has a wealth of experience across many aspects of public service and academia. Currently, she is Director of Innovation & Business Partnerships at the University of Sussex, where she leads a team to mobilise the University’s expertise and knowledge to make tangible improvements to people’s lives and business success. As a former senior civil servant and local government official, Sue has driven UK industrial and regional policies and programmes; led EU and other international negotiations and set up local, community-based support schemes.

Nicola Briggs

Trustee

Nicola is currently the Director, London and South East, for the National Trust and has led a number of large, high performing teams at senior executive leadership level in media, communications, publishing, legal, professional services, heritage and not-for-profit sectors. She also has an advisory role on the Old Royal Naval College. Nicola joined the Board in September 2022.

Lucy Davies

Trustee

Lucy, currently Executive Director at the Royal Court Theatre will shortly be moving to become Executive Director of the Young Vic. Lucy was previously the founding Executive Producer at National Theatre Wales. Her other governance roles include Co-Chair (with Alessandro Babalola) of the new Soho Theatre Walthamstow,  Chair of Trustees for Clod Ensemble and she is a Board member for the Society of London Theatre (SOLT). She is a Creative Climate Leader and Creative Green Champion 2020 and a Fellow of the RSA. Lucy joined the Board in December 2017 and is the Board Champion for Health, Safety & Wellbeing.

Ross James

Trustee

Ross is a Brighton-based former Deloitte partner, now holding a portfolio of non-executive, advisory, angel investor and trustee roles. He is passionate about live music and the arts, and has been a regular attendee at Brighton Dome and Festival events for many years. Ross joined the Board in September 2022 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Nick Juba

Trustee

Nick Juba has extensive experience within the education sector. Based in Brighton, Nick has served as a Non-Executive Director with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Coast2Capital Local Enterprise Board and as Chief Executive of Greater Brighton Metropolitan College. Previous voluntary roles include Trustee for Brighton Fringe and member of Our Future City, a cultural initiative to support children and young people in Brighton & Hove. He is currently Director of Learning at Capita PLC where he is responsible for a multi-billion pound partnership to transform education and training in the public sector. Nick has been a Trustee since September 2019 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Melanie Lewis

Trustee (& Patron)

Melanie’s background as a Barrister and a Tribunal Judge has given her a particular interest in children and young people.  She has extensive experience as a judicial trainer and has written on issues of diversity and equality. She joined the Board in September 2019 and currently chairs the Safeguarding Committee. Melanie lives in Piddinghoe ,East Sussex.

Chris Martin

Trustee

Chris qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse in London, and spent 15 years in investment banking, latterly as Chief Administrative Officer of Credit Suisse First Boston with global responsibility for IT, Finance and Settlements.  He retired from the City in 2001 and spent several years running an organic cattle and sheep farm He has been Chair of Governors at Arts University Bournemouth, a trustee and chair of Finance Committee of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, a trustee and past Chair of Told by an Idiot. Chris is Chair of the Finance Committee

Peter McCusker

Trustee

Peter had been advising across the Royal London Group since 2012, He has an established track record of executing business strategy through an innovative, solution-driven, and decisive approach to legal service delivery. He works closely with Board and Executive Committee members and frequently liaises with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority on behalf of Royal London. Peter joined the Board in September 2022 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Cllr Jackie O’Quinn

Trustee

Jackie is the second City Council representative and is a member of the Labour Party. Jackie is the opposition spokesperson on the City Council’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee. She is also a member of the City’s Arts and Creative industries Commission.

Cllr Jilly Stevens

Trustee

Councillor Jilly Stevens is one of the two trustees appointed by Brighton & Hove City Council. Jilly was a journalist for 30 years before becoming Director of Consumer Affairs for Experian, and then a consultant in the areas of debt, credit and identity fraud, financial inclusion and consumer rights, working with government and advice organisations in UK, Europe and the US. She was elected as a Labour and Co-operative councillor to Brighton & Hove City Council in May 2023. She has always been a supporter of the arts and is particularly keen on live theatre and music. Now retired, she has lived in Hove with her husband, a children’s poet and author, for 15 years.

Liz Wilson

Trustee

Liz has extensive experience in branding, communication and digital innovation gained in high profile creative businesses and management consultancy organisations. She was recently appointed as Group Chief Integration Office at Landor, a global brand and design agency. Prior to this she was the Accenture Song MD & Client Group Lead. Liz is on the Board of ‘The Place’ which provides contemporary dance education and a theatre centre, designed to develop, nurture and celebrate dance for all, and sits on WACL (Women in Advertising and Communication Leadership Board). Liz joined the Board in December 2022.

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