The Board

AIDAN GROUNDS – CHAIR

Aidan is Producer and Co-Founder at Rodeo Productions.

He is also a Partner at Tilted Investments; a Trustee for Stage One; and a member of the Advisory Board for The Women’s Prize for Playwriting.

Current productions include Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular (London); & Juliet (UK Tour & Germany); Indigo (Curve Leicester); and House of Life (London & NYC). & Juliet is also currently running on Broadway and on tour across the USA. The show has previously run in Canada, Australia and Singapore.

Rodeo Productions are also developing a number of new projects with world-leading composers, writers and creatives working with companies including The Seelig Group, The Roald Dahl Story Company, Netflix and Let’s Go.

Prior to Rodeo Productions, Aidan was Associate Producer and General Manager at Greene Light Stage where he general managed & Juliet in the West End and produced James Graham, Jake Shears and Elton John’s Tammy Faye.

He was previously Executive Producer at Curve Leicester and he has worked in his hometown of Southampton at both Nuffield Southampton Theatres as Director of Creative Programmes and MAST Mayflower Studios as Creative Producer. He has also worked in the fundraising team at the Young Vic, with music company Air-Edel, and with producer Thelma Holt CBE. He was the inaugural Executive Director of Reading Rep which he started while studying at Oxford University. Aidan has been supported by UnLtd and EY’s Accelerate Programme for social entrepreneurs.

He is proud of his Vincentian and Indian background.

ADAM BAGHDADI 

Adam Baghdadi is a frequent angel investor in UK theatre, having previously run the Oxford University Dramatic Society as a student and spent time as a director, actor and producer both at Oxford and as part of the National Youth Theatre. Shows he has supported include &Juliet (UK tour), Good (Harold Pinter Theatre), Long Day’s Journey into Night (Wyndham’s Theatre), A Mirror (Trafalgar Theatre) and Every Brilliant Thing (West End- @sohoplace, Broadway- Hudson Theatre). He has also featured in publications including the Financial Times discussing the importance of evolving funding structures in UK theatre

Adam is a Managing Director in the Arrow Global central investment team and head of Lending Solutions, based in London. Arrow is a European asset manager of credit and real estate with assets under management of over €125 Bn. He has over 15 years of investment experience in credit, lending and corporate finance.

Adam holds an MA in Economics and Management (1^st class honours) from Oxford University.

JUDITH FOSS

Judith joined the Board in August 2021.  With extensive executive level experience across both the private and not-for-profit sectors, previous roles include Executive Director of HR with Guide Dogs and Executive Director of People and Culture with Catalyst Housing.  Awards include the “Brand, Purpose and Values” Business Culture Award and she is a member of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.  Other current roles include Board Vice Chair and Chair of the People.  She has lived in the Reading area for many years and is passionate about the role that the arts and culture can play in transforming lives and local communities.

JONATHAN HOLLEY

A senior executive with experience in engaging and galvanising people around transformation and delivery of Innovation and technology. Currently Transformation Director of Breaking Barriers Innovations, and recently Interim MD of Ways into Work CIC, Jonathan’s background is in IT, Property, FM, Supported Employment for people with disabilities, Management Consultancy at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Business Leadership. Jonathan has designed and delivered innovative change and transformation programmes within the public and private sectors including FMCG, Retail, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services and Government across EMEA and Asia.

PAUL NEWMAN – ACTIVATE LEARNING REPRESENTATIVE

Paul is on the Group Executive Team of Activate Learning. Activate Learning is a forward-thinking and employment-focused educational group that brings together further and higher education, secondary schools, apprenticeships, training and consultancy for business as well as commercial enterprise. Paul has worked in teaching and management roles at Reading College for over six years, and has an MSc in Applied Management from the University of Reading.

TARIQ RIFAAT

Tariq is Managing Director of Steeldeck Rentals Ltd. who provide temporary demountable staging and seating solutions for the live events industry including theatre, festivals, TV & film, and fashion shows. Tariq previously worked in the theatre industry for over 30 years in Production and Stage Management. As a full-time member of staff at the National Theatre from 2015-2021, Tariq production managed over 20 productions under Rufus Norris’ artistic leadership, including People, Places & Things, Angels in America, Amadeus, and Small Island. Previously he was Production Manager at the Royal Court for 8 years and has also worked as a freelance Production Manager in the West End and at several producing theatres around London including the Young Vic, Kiln Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe. Tariq began his career as a Stage Manager, working in theatres across the country as well as touring productions internationally, most notably Riverdance. Tariq often mentors students and young professionals training in Production Management and Technical Theatre to help support and develop the next generation of theatre technicians.

PREVIOUS BOARD MEMBERS

Thelma Holt CBE
Laura Gater
Alexandra Rowlands
Siobhan White
Emma Donald
Ian Germer
Natasha Ratter
Alexandra Dewis
Donna Pentelow
Nicky Jones
Piers Elliott
Suzanne Stallard
Alan Stacey