Birmingham Museums co-chief Sara Wajid joins NMDC board

Three UK museum directors have been newly appointed to the executive committee of the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC).

Sara Wajid, the co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust, Rhiannon Hiles, chief executive of Beamish: The Living Museum of the North in Durham, and Luke Syson, director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, commenced their three-year terms on 1 April.

The executive committee is a key leadership group within the council, responsible for making strategic decisions and overseeing the council's activities.

Wajid, who has led Birmingham Museums in a groundbreaking job-share arrangement with Zak Mensah since 2020, will sit on the committee for the next three years representing both the trust and the English Civic Museums Network, a group of senior museum professionals representing more than 40 museum organisations.

Commenting on her appointment, Wajid said: “Museums are a core part of our national infrastructure and, despite crisis induced by decades of austerity cuts, have huge potential to contribute to the cultural, social, economic and democratic renewal of our society.

“At a time of dramatic polarisation and geopolitical chaos, museums can be creative spaces where we seek to understand the past in order to help our search for a richer, more just and human future.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity as a member of the National Museum Directors’ Council, to work with colleagues to realise more of this potential.”

A number of members have left the committee after coming to the end of their terms.

Andrew Lovett, director of Black Country Living Museum, has stepped down from the board after four years as deputy chair, with existing board member Keith Merrin, director of North East Museums, replacing him in the role of deputy.

Board members Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums Trust and Esme Ward, director of Manchester Museum, have also stepped down.

Laura Pye, director of National Museums Liverpool, formally took over as NMDC chair from Tate director Maria Balshaw on 1 April. After four years at Tate Britain, the NMDC team has now moved to a new home at National Museums Liverpool. 

NDMC represents the leaders of the UK's national collections and major regional museums and is an independent, non-governmental organisation.