Sir Rupert Gavin

Sir Rupert Gavin is a highly regarded arts and business leader. He has been managing director of British Telecom, CEO of BBC Worldwide, and CEO of Odeon Cinemas Group. More recently he has been Chair of Historic Royal Palaces for several successive terms, and Chair of the Honours Committee for Arts and Media for seven years.

Throughout his life he has been an impresario in the performing arts. He was a board director and then shareholder, until 2013, in Ambassador Theatre Group, on its way to becoming the largest theatre owner/producer group in the world. He has personally produced or co-produced over 200 shows in London, on Broadway and around the world, winning 21 Olivier Awards and 9 Tonys for highly creative, ground-breaking work. He was knighted in the King’s first Birthday Honours list, ‘for services to drama, to the arts, to heritage and the economy’.