Hedley Swain steps down as head of Brighton & Hove Museums

Hedley Swain is to step down as CEO of Brighton & Hove Museums next month after a six-year tenure.

Swain announced yesterday that he is leaving the organisation at the end of October in order to relocate to Sweden, where his wife has secured a senior position at a museum in Stockholm.

Swain joined the independent museum trust in October 2020 in the midst of the Covid pandemic. A statement from Brighton & Hove Museums said he had guided the charity through a “pivotal period of transformational change, strengthening the organisation’s reach and overseeing major initiatives across its five historic venues”.

The trust was established in 2019 in order to run the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Preston Manor & Gardens, the Booth Museum of Natural History, and Hove Museum of Creativity on behalf of Brighton & Hove City Council.

“It has been an exceptionally busy six years, and I have loved being in Brighton and I am immensely proud of all we have achieved together,” said Swain.

“I wish the trust every success on its ongoing journey and look forward to watching its progress. Thanks to everyone who has supported me, with a special thanks to a great leadership team and my amazing executive board colleagues.”

Michael Bedingfield, the chair of trustees at Brighton & Hove Museums, said: “On behalf of the Board of Trustees and everyone at Brighton & Hove Museums, I want to express our deep gratitude to Hedley for his dedicated leadership over the past six years.

“Hedley has steered the trust through significant challenges and opportunities with steady vision, deep sector expertise, and genuine passion for our cultural heritage. He leaves the organisation in a strong position for the future, and we wish him and his wife every success as they begin this exciting new chapter in Sweden.”

Swain has had a long career in the museum and cultural sectors, including more than seven years as area director for the south-east at Arts Council England, as well as senior leadership roles at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (the arm's-length body abolished in 2012), and the Museum of London.

The charity's current deputy CEO, Abigail Thomas, will act as interim CEO from the end of October to ensure continuity while the recruitment process for a permanent successor gets underway.

“Operations and upcoming programming across all sites remain business as usual,” said the trust.

The past year has been tumultuous period for the charity following an industrial dispute over pay and conditions.

Workers took several days of strike action between April and June after a five-year agreement with the local authority, under which they were employed on the same terms as council workers, came to an end.

Museum staff said the new contracts they had been offered would threaten their previous benefits package.

At the height of the dispute, the GMB Union alleged that the trust was in financial difficulty and called on the council to intervene before it went bankrupt. Brighton & Hove Museums issued a statement strongly rejecting the claim, which it said was “inaccurate and misleading”.

The dispute was resolved in July when union members backed a compromise deal that protected their core terms and conditions with a limited 1% pay rise.