Fiona Sheridan - Chair
Fiona is Global Head of Marketing for Consumer Markets and Industrial Markets at KPMG. She has instigated and delivered a wide range of global marketing programmes, a number of which focus on India. She has 14 years marketing and communications experience gained in a variety of financial, legal and public sector organisations.
Anu Kapoor - Deputy Chair
Anu graduated in business management before qualifying as a solicitor in 1991. After practising law in a corporate context for a number of years, she specialised in employment and immigration law, and in September 1999, set up her own solicitor's firm. She works with human rights organisations, minority community groups, businesses and individuals such as asylum seekers. Anu has been a member of Akademi's board since 1996 and is its Treasurer.
Richard Blurton
Richard works at the British Museum where he is a curator for the South and Southeast Asia collections in the Department of Asia. He has curated many exhibitions there over the last 20 years, most recently on the paintings of Rabindranath Tagore, and on the narratives of Bengal. He is the author of Hindu Art (1992) and Bengali Myths (2006) amongst other publications and currently works on a research project in Arunachal Pradesh.
Rachel Harris
Rachel is currently Dance Education Officer at Southbank Centre. After gaining a degree in music, dance and drama, Rachel went on to train in South Asian dance and completed an MPhil in the development of bharatanatyam in England. She has worked in a wide range of environments, choreographing and teaching in schools, community, special needs, site-specific, public and professional contexts and has collaborated with many cultural organisations. Rachel has acted as assessor for Arts Council England London and is currently on the dance panel for the Olivier Awards.
Hanna Madalski
Hanna is a communications professional, with a diverse international background, specialising in public relations and public affairs. Having obtained a first class honours degree she has worked in the European Commission and currently works for Tetra Strategy. Hanna formerly trained as a dancer, bringing a real passion for dance, and is a Dance UK member.
Caroline Miller
Caroline is Director of Dance UK, the national voice for dance. Dance UK produced the Dance Manifesto in partnership with the National Campaign for the Arts, which was presented to David Lammy, the Minister for Culture in 2006. Caroline has been an arts publicist for 14 years and was Head of Publicity at Phaidon Press, and Press Manager for Sadler's Wells and the Royal Festival Hall. She was also the press officer for the ICA and began her career as the marketing officer for Colchester Arts Centre.
Bavaani Nanthabalan
Bavaani is the headteacher of Torriano Junior School in Camden. With an MA in Curriculum Studies and a recent outstanding Ofsted inspection, she has worked with Ofsted, HMI and Camden in sharing good practice on leadership and raising achievement through assessment and tracking of pupil progress. A trained Carnatic vocalist and bharatanatyam dancer, she was a member of the Singapore National Dance Company. Bavaani has had a long partnership with Akademi, as a perfomer in its early dance dramas and later as a dance teacher and workshop leader.
Nasreen Rehman
Nasreen is the co-founder and Vice-Chair of the British Muslims for Secular Democracy. Nasreen has worked variously as an economist and an arts bureaucrat, and am an award winning screenplay writer. Since 2000, she has been writing plays and screenplays in Urdu and Punjabi. Her translation of Shaukat Kaifi's memoir Kaifi and I is released in September 2009.
Kim Evans
Kim is a cultural broker with extensive experience as a senior manager and practitioner in the cultural and creative industries. She is a Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Chelsea & Westminster Health Charity and a Director of London Artists Projects. Kim began her career directing arts documentaries for The South Bank Show and then moved to the BBC where she won a BAFTA for her film Angela Carter's Curious Room. She was the BBC's Head of Music & Arts from 1993 to 1999. From 1999 to 2006 she was Executive Director of Arts at Arts Council England and Deputy Chair of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA). She was awarded an OBE for her services to the arts in 2007.
Nina Nanaar
Bandish Gudkta
Bobby Gudka, originally from Kenya, has worked within the Wealth Management sector for over 10 years. He was a founder member of the Citigold Wealth Management UK as well has having significant exposure to overseas emerging and NRI markets. He currently works as senior banker with Barclays Wealth. Bobby speaks over 7 languages including German, Hindi and Swahili.
Additionally, Bobby has trained as a Sitarist under Ustad Basharat Khan of the Lucknow Gharana. He has been three times the winner of the Presidents Award for music in Kenya for outstanding musical contribution amongst others as well as having composed music for UK Film. He has had several chart successes in the UK as well as collaborating and working with artists including Toni Braxton, Britney Spears, Nitin Sawnhey and Akademi His performances have also seen him perform for many global dignitaries and royalty.
In his spare time, Bobby is an avid supporter of the South Asian Art movement in the UK, and represents several charities as well as being a committee member of the Cultural Awareness Network and Charity network at Barlcays. He also has a penchant for extreme sport and has run several marathons
Patrons
Anish Kapoor
Girish Karnard
Swaraj Paul (Chief Patron)
Ravi Shankar
Alistair Spalding
Kapila Vatsyayan
