Dr Paul Thompson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the British Council | |
| Assumed office January 2024 | |
| Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art | |
| In office September 2009 –April 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Christopher Frayling |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 August 1959 Oxford,Oxfordshire,England,UK |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol University of East Anglia |
Paul Warwick Thompson CBE FRSA (born 9 August 1959) is the current Chair of the British Council. [1] He was Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art from 2009 to 2024. [2]
Thompson was educated at Bryanston School,the University of Bristol (BA) and the University of East Anglia (MA,PhD). [3]
Thompson worked as a scriptwriter and researcher for the Design Council 1987–88. He then joined the Design Museum as curator of contemporary design and from 1993 to 2001 was its director. [3]
During 2001–09,Thompson was director of the Cooper Hewitt,Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City,USA. In 2009,he took up his post at the Royal College of Art. [4] He was a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum,London,from 2009 to 2023, [5] and was on the board of visitors of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford from 2013 to 2019. [6] He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Universities UK from 2020 to 2023. [7]
He is a member of the Wellcome Collection Programme Advisory Committee at the Wellcome Trust,London. He is an adjunct professor at Imperial College's Institute for Global Health Innovation. He co-directs the Helix Centre with Professor Lord Ara Darzi. [8] Since 2020 he has been a member of the Board of Trustees,Creative UK. [9]
He was awarded a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in June 2024 for services to the Arts. [10]
