Bristol Beacon boss to step down after 12 years in charge of venue

Louise Mitchell, Bristol Beacon’s current chief executive who led the the once-in-a-generation transformation of the former Colston Hall, has confirmed that she will be stepping down from the role in July 2024.

Long-term chair of the board Simon Chapman, who supported Louise and the team throughout the five-year transformation that cost £132m, has also come to the end of his tenure.

The new chair taking up the role is the renowned broadcaster, writer and historian, Jonathan Dimbleby.

Mitchell has been at the helm since the music charity, Bristol Music Trust, was established by Bristol City Council in May 2011 to run the concert venue. She also navigated the charity through the Covid pandemic and the ambitious building transformation, which saw the venue closed from 2018 until the end of 2023.

She said: “It’s been a highlight of my career leading and working with the team at Bristol Music Trust. We’ve been faced with some incredible hurdles and challenges along the way, but we have also grown an amazing organisation and created hugely impactful artistic, education and outreach programmes that are nationally recognised.

"We now start the next chapter of our building’s 155-year history with a glorious new building that ensures our position as one of the best and most accessible venues anywhere in Europe. My successor can come in and lead on the exciting next phase with the brilliant team here.

“I’m also incredibly thankful to the board and in particular our chair, Simon, for his unfailing support and calm, level-headed guidance over the past few years. He will be deeply missed, but we are thrilled that Jonathan Dimbleby has agreed to take on the role as new chair – his experience and ideas will be of enormous benefit as we focus on our future.”

New chair Jonathan Dimbleby said: “As a citizen of Bristol, it is a great privilege to be asked to chair Bristol Music Trust. I am fortunate to inherit the role at a point where - thanks in large measure to the outstanding leadership of Simon and Louise - the Beacon can now become a great cultural hub in the heart of this great city. 

“At the start of this new era, I hope that everyone in Bristol will come to regard the Beacon as their musical ‘home’, a place that is open to all and at the service of all. With a wonderful new concert hall and a range of facilities that rival any in Britain - or indeed Europe - our task is to ensure that we offer a feast of musical delights for all ages, all cultures, and all tastes. I want the new Beacon to shine a light across the city and far beyond. I know that it can and that it will – which is why I am honoured to play my part in helping to meet this challenge.” 

Joining Dimbleby as vice chairs are Sandra Meadows, an independent business and EDI consultant, facilitator, coach and Director of The Centre for Mentoring & Coaching, and Sonia Mills, who spent her career in the NHS which included several CEO-level posts with NHS Oxfordshire, Swindon Marlborough NHS Trust and latterly CEO for North Bristol NHS Trust, responsible for the development of the new Southmead Hospital.