Lorraine Francis

Lorraine won the tender to become our “Ambassador” and is helping bring Creative Republic to life. With strong networks and senior level contacts across Birmingham, Lorraine will be able to provide potential access to new members, speakers and sponsors when we are ready to launch. Previously with Birmingham Forward, Lorraine established Weave Marketing in 2004. As well as being regional secretary for the RSA West Midlands, Lorraine is immediate past regional director of the Professional Marketing Forum. She is a former member of the Chairman’s Circle at Symphony Hall, Leadership Team member at Fairbridge, has been a Trustee of Brewery Arts in Cirencester and is a 1996 programme graduate of Common Purpose Birmingham.

Ruth Ward

Ruth beat off competition from some of the top young creative talents in the Midlands to be named as one of twenty professionals chosen for the Channel 4 IDEASFACTORY Creative Class 2005/6. One of the city's top PR talents, Ruth is a former Young Professional of the Year and currently in the process of establishing her own consultancy.

John Mostyn

John works in a wide range of areas of the music industry. Always Birmingham based since '72 he has helped, through artists that he has managed such as The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals, amongst others, to bring more than £30m into the local economy through royalties etc. He also launched Ocean Colour Scene via his then Phffft label. He now works from an office in The Custard Factory on a variety of music projects including a live music agency, record label, artist management and film music supervision. He currently sits on AWM's Screen Image and Sound cog, recently booked the artists for last years Rootsville festival, introduced ballroom dancing to Birmingham Town Hall and took part in Birmingham Opera Company's NIA production of La Traviata. He's just back from tour managing James Hunter on the Willie mNelson tour as he likes to escape his desk now and again. He enjoys helping others achieve success in the music business.

Stef Lewandowski

Stef runs 3form, a creative consultancy for website design, online gaming and interactive design services and also Type Records an experimental music label of international artists. Stef is actively involved in many aspects of life in Birmingham including being a director of the Plus International Design Festival and as a board member of Fierce!, the international performance festival. Awarded Birmingham Young Professional of the Year in 2005, Stef was also named Birmingham University’s Alumnus of the Year in 2006.

Stuart Griffiths

Stuart joined Birmingham Hippodrome in 2002 shortly after the 107 year old theatre re-opened following its award-winning £35m redevelopment. With over 20 years experience in the theatre industry, Stuart has been credited with turning around the Theatre’s ailing fortunes. Stuart’s leadership, passion and commitment to put the Hippodrome firmly on the map as one of the leading regional theatres in the UK has seen the theatre welcoming audiences averaging almost 500,000 per year. The Hippodrome can also lay claim to the highest regular annual attendance of any single theatre in the country.

Noel Dunne

A specialist in education and creative learning, Noel makes creative programmes of work happen. Noel is a self employed producer and has worked in participatory arts for nearly twenty years. As a producer of programmes of work supporting communities, agencies, arts organisations and individual artists, Noel works across a range of public sector agencies from learning, health, regeneration and the arts sectors. A deep understanding of funding processes has resulted in Noel successfully securing over £500,000 for creative programmes in the last three years.

Jemima Cattel

Jemima is the award-winning Deputy Director of Hi8us Midlands Ltd, a film and media production company and charity that specialises in working with hard-to-reach groups. During the expansion of Hi8us, Jemima has been involved in the development and delivery of projects that help individuals and communities to access the creative industries. Jemima is occasionally hired out by Hi8us to work on a variety of Maverick TV productions that range from live projects to non-broadcast documentaries. In her spare time, Jemima is a freelance writer for IDEASFACTORY, Channel 4's 10 Years Younger online and Clutter magazine.

Mark Ball

Founder and award-winning artistic director of the Fierce Festival, Mark has recently been appointed to the Southbank Centre Board and in January 2008 takes up a new role as Head of Events and Exhibitions at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Mark is a Clore Fellow, a Board Member of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry and in 2005 was named the Institute of Directors (IoD) Young Director of the Year. Mark is also a member of the Events and Festivals Theme Group, Advantage West Midlands and a Founder Member of Live Art UK, a national network of professional contemporary arts venues and promoters. Mark is the founding member of Creative Republic.

Helga Henry - Chairman

Helga is director of Fierce Earth which runs the annual Fierce festival. She is a graduate in French and Drama and also a qualified lawyer, being a former Associate at Wragge & Co. Helga’s drama training included studies in directing and the teaching of speech, dramatic art and public speaking. She is an adjudicator for a number of regional debating competitions for local schools and on the voluntary Board of management of Geese Theatre. In addition to her legal skills, Helga has particular expertise in professional services marketing, presentation skills training and meeting facilitation.

Karl Binder - Treasurer

Karl is managing director of The Adhere Creative, a multimedia design agency specialising in online interactive systems. Karl’s expertise and services cover a wide range of design and multimedia including website design, search engine optimisation, video production, interactive online systems, ecommerce and content management.

Karl recently appeared in Insider magazine's Top 42 under 42s for 2008.