Damien Whitmore, director of public affairs and programming at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London, has left as part of a senior management restructure. His role will not be replaced.
Whitmore was responsible for overseeing the museum’s exhibitions and contemporary programmes, creative industries, visitor services, marketing and communications, and the V&A brand.
Since joining the museum in 2003, he has overseen a rebrand of the organisation, and the launch of both the V&A Magazine and the V&A’s digital production and broadcast channel.
Prior to joining the V&A he was communications director at the Tate Gallery and head of development at the Design Museum.
The restructure is being led by chief operating officer Tim Reeve, who joined the museum in August last year, and will see a number of changes: conservation and collections management will be in the same department as the curatorial and research teams; and finance, human resources and information technology will be merged into a single department headed by Heather Francis, who joined as director of finance in February.
Learning will be represented at senior management level with the creation of a new post of director of learning and visitor experience; and a number of the museum’s commercial activities will now be overseen by Alex Stitt, who joined the museum in April as director of commercial and digital development, a move that the museum sees as making this area more central to its operations.
Public programming and marketing will join the museum’s design and FuturePlan department under Moira Gemmill; and the press office will report to the director, Martin Roth.
A V&A spokeswoman said: “The restructure aims to streamline the way the museum works and to better integrate some of our key activities.
“This is taking place in tandem with the development of a new strategic plan, a key part of which will, of course, be about running an increasingly effective and efficient museum, whilst at the same time increasing and diversifying our commercial activities to ensure the V&A is in a resilient financial position in the light of decreasing grant in aid funding.
Whitmore was responsible for overseeing the museum’s exhibitions and contemporary programmes, creative industries, visitor services, marketing and communications, and the V&A brand.
Since joining the museum in 2003, he has overseen a rebrand of the organisation, and the launch of both the V&A Magazine and the V&A’s digital production and broadcast channel.
Prior to joining the V&A he was communications director at the Tate Gallery and head of development at the Design Museum.
The restructure is being led by chief operating officer Tim Reeve, who joined the museum in August last year, and will see a number of changes: conservation and collections management will be in the same department as the curatorial and research teams; and finance, human resources and information technology will be merged into a single department headed by Heather Francis, who joined as director of finance in February.
Learning will be represented at senior management level with the creation of a new post of director of learning and visitor experience; and a number of the museum’s commercial activities will now be overseen by Alex Stitt, who joined the museum in April as director of commercial and digital development, a move that the museum sees as making this area more central to its operations.
Public programming and marketing will join the museum’s design and FuturePlan department under Moira Gemmill; and the press office will report to the director, Martin Roth.
A V&A spokeswoman said: “The restructure aims to streamline the way the museum works and to better integrate some of our key activities.
“This is taking place in tandem with the development of a new strategic plan, a key part of which will, of course, be about running an increasingly effective and efficient museum, whilst at the same time increasing and diversifying our commercial activities to ensure the V&A is in a resilient financial position in the light of decreasing grant in aid funding.
