Goldsmiths’ Foundation announces first Board of Trustees
The Goldsmiths’ Foundation has appointed a new Board of Trustees to lead the charity as it renews its focus on support for vocational skills, the crafts of jewellery and silversmithing, and the wider creative industries.
The Goldsmiths’ Foundation (formerly, the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity) will be chaired by Lynne Brindley, former Master of Pembroke College, Oxford (2013-20) and previously CEO of the British Library (2000-12).
The Board of nine Trustees includes Blondel Cluff, currently CEO of the West India Committee, a UK charity that is a Consulting NGO of UNESCO founded in the City of London by Royal Charter, and Diane Lees, Director-General of the Imperial War Museum until 2023.
The new Trustees were recruited from the Goldsmiths’ Company’s membership and bring to the Foundation senior experience from a variety of relevant sectors and professions, from charity to education, and from business to arts and culture.
Wednesday 26 February 2025, London: The Goldsmiths’ Foundation has announced the appointment of nine Company members to its Board of Trustees, chaired by Lynne Brindley former Master of Pembroke College, Oxford (2013-20) and CEO of the British Library (2000-12), and a Court Assistant at the Goldsmiths’ Company.
The move comes after the Goldsmiths’ Company announced last year that it would be reinvigorating its philanthropy with the express aim of supporting vocational skills and training, jewellery and silversmithing, and the wider cultural and creative sector. To mark this moment, it has renamed the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity the Goldsmiths’ Foundation.
The Trustees are Lynne Brindley, Blondel Cluff, Nicholas Diggle, Emma Himsworth, Robert Hayes, Diane Lees, Karin Paynter, Michael Prideaux, and Philip Saunders. The CEO of the Goldsmiths’ Foundation is Annie Warburton, also CEO and Clerk of the Goldsmiths’ Company.
The Trustees were recruited for the depth and strength of their skills and experience across a variety of sectors and professions, from charity to education, arts and culture, and business, and for their significant contributions to advocating and advancing individuals’ life chances in and through the creative industries and vocational training. All Trustees are members of the Goldsmiths’ Company, and were recruited through an open, competitive process.
Philanthropy has been at the heart of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s work since 1327. The Goldsmiths’ Foundation, a grant-making charity first established in the 19th Century, focusses on advancing creative, technical, and vocational skills, education and training in the craft and trade of goldsmithing, silversmithing and jewellery – as well as in the wider creative industries.
The Foundation awards and distributes grant funding of some £3.5m each year. Current grantees include the new London Museum (where the charity is a founding partner), the Goldsmiths Institute at the University of Aston Engineering Academy in Birmingham, and the Goldsmiths’ Centre, an education charity in London founded by the Goldsmiths’ Company in 2012. The Board of Trustees plan to launch the Foundation’s first funding round in March.
Lynne Brindley, Chair of the Foundation Trustee Board, says:
“I am delighted to be appointed as Chair of the Foundation and extend a very warm welcome to my fellow Trustees. They each bring a wealth and depth of experience to the Goldsmiths’ Foundation and are committed to increasing our philanthropic impact through grant funding and charitable partnerships that will foster development of skills and enable creative talent to flourish.
I look forward to the positive impact that we will have on communities, and individuals and on creativity and innovation. With a renewed focus on vocational skills and on our craft, trade and industry, we begin in earnest next month with our inaugural grant-making round. Together, we will write the next chapters of our charity, connected by a golden thread of skills and creativity, to leave a proud legacy for generations to come.”
Lynne Brindley has had a distinguished career in higher education and the cultural sector. She was Master of Pembroke College, Oxford (2013-20) and previously CEO of the British Library (2000-12) being the first woman in each role. She was made a Dame (DBE) in 2008 for services to education and was Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company in 2021/22. She serves on the Wolfson Foundation Heritage, Humanities and Arts Panel and represents them on archival matters.
Blondel Cluff is a solicitor of over forty years standing who founded the legal department of Lazard Brothers & Co., Ltd during her extensive legal career in the City of London where she also specialised in the Stock Exchange Moneybroking. In 2018 she was awarded the CBE for services to the Caribbean community both in the UK and abroad and for her work in numismatics.
Nicholas Diggle is a member of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s leadership team currently posted as Minister-Counsellor in the UK’s High Commission in Ottawa. Nick previously worked for Mencap, as a trustee and latterly Chair of the Board of Trustees of ‘The Assist Fund’ and as a strategic advisor to the Canadian Red Cross. Prior to joining the FCDO, Nick served in the Royal Navy having been commissioned as a Warfare Officer in 1988.
Emma Himsworth has been in independent practice as a barrister since 1995 at One Essex Court, Temple, London. She specialises in intellectual property law and related aspects of commercial law. Emma was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2012; as an Appointed Person hearing appeals from the UK Registrar of Trade Marks in 2013; and became Chair of the Intellectual Bar Association in 2022.
Robert Hayes recently retired after a 40-year career in the investment-management industry, the last 22 years of which were at BlackRock. His final role was as Investment Director and Head of UK Charities, working with charities on their investment strategies and portfolio management. He is a member of the Greenwich Hospital Advisory Board and The University of Southampton investment committee.
Diane Lees served as Director-General of the Imperial War Museums from October 2008 to March 2023 and now runs a charity advisory company. She began her career as a historic buildings researcher before transitioning to exhibitions, education, and interpretation. Recognised for her contributions to the museum sector, Diane was awarded a CBE in 2015 and a DBE in 2022.
Karin Paynter has had a 30-year career in the jewellery, silversmithing and creative sectors, spanning design, production, communications and research, and was part of the management team that established the Goldsmiths’ Centre. She holds various non-executive roles, including trustee of Bishopsland Educational Trust and member of the Goldsmiths’ Company Communications & Marketing Committee and the UK JSAC Roundtable.
Michael Prideaux became a Liveryman in 1974, his father having been Prime Warden in 1973, and joined the Court in 2013. He Chaired the Communications & Marketing Committee before serving a Prime Warden in 2018-19. Most of his career was spent in Public Relations, first as a consultant and subsequently with British American Tobacco, where he was Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director, and a member of the Management Board, from 1998 -2012.
Philip Saunders is a long-standing employee of Ninety-One PLC, a global asset management company headquartered in the City, where he is currently Director of the Ninety One Investment Institute. Philip sits on the investment committees of Exeter College Oxford and Brentwood School and has recently become a member of the Goldsmith’s investment committee.