Back to Navigation page PATRONS and DIRECTORS President - Sir Jonathan Miller Patrons Board of Directors The Ambache is extremely grateful to its President and Patrons for lending us their good names, their advice and their skills. President: Sir Jonathan Miller The polymath Sir Jonathan Miller needs little introduction due to his work in science, the Arts, and as a communicator. Among his opera productions are many by Mozart, which is why we were so pleased to have him as President. While he was Director at the Old Vic Theatre, he arranged for the Ambache to give Mozart's first concert there. Patrons: Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter came to the attention of the public when she played Roberta in Lionel Jeffries' 1971 film The Railway Children. She has played major roles on both sides of the Atlantic in films like Equus, American Werewolf and Logan's Run. On TV she has played in such classics as The Snow Goose, The Cherry Orchard and The Wild Duck. She recently returned to The Railway Children to play the Mother. She is currently working on a script about E. Nesbit; when that is complete she will take on the new role of Film Producer. David Bell David Bell became a Director of Pearson in March 1996. He is Chairman of the Financial Times Group, having been Chief Executive of the FT since 1993 In addition to this he is a non-executive director of the Vitec Group plc, The Windmill Partnership and Zen Research, Chairman of the Millennium Bridge Trust, Chairman of Common Purpose Europe and a Civil Service Commissioner. Gyles Brandreth Gyles Brandreth is a performer, writer and broadcaster. Formerly the MP for the City of Chester and a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major's government, he is editor-at-large of the Sunday Telegraph Review and a London correspondent for CBS News His many books include an acclaimed diary of his life in politics Breaking the Code, a biography of Sir John Gielgud and three novels. A Scholar at Oxford and President of the Oxford Union, he is a former Chairman and now Vice-President of the National Playing Fields Association, and the co-curator (with his wife, Michele Brown) of the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of 20th century children's authors. Sir Denis Forman OBE Sir Denis Forman was Chairman of Granada Television from 1974-87, and was particularly associated with programmes such as World in Action, and The Jewel in the Crown. He was appointed Deputy Chaiman of the Granada Group from 1984 to 1990, and he has played a part in developing the company's broadcasting interests in Europe and in British Sky Broadcasting. He was Deputy Chairman of the Royal Opera House (1981-91) and Chairman of the Booker panel of judges in 1990. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 1977, and of the BFI in 1993. He has written several books including Mozart's Piano Concertos - The First Movements. Roger Graef Jenni Murray Jenni Murray has been the regular presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour since 1987. She also presents Radio 4's The Message. She started with Radio 4 in 1985, as a presenter for the Today programme, and launched the Saturday edition of the programme with John Humphrys in 1987. She was a weekly columnist for the Daily Express from 1998-2000, and now contributes to numerous magazines and newspapers. She has written three books, and she was awarded an OBE for radio broadcasting in 1999. Viscount Norwich John Julius Norwich is a writer and broadcaster who covers a wide range of subjects. As well as histories of Norman Sicily, Venice and Byzantium, he has written about architecture, literature and music. With his friend, the Haydn expert H.C.Robbins Landon, he has presented MAESTRO, a series of five television programmes on five centuries of music in Venice. He was for three years presenter of the Evening Concert on Classic fm. The Ambache is fortunate to have a Board of Directors who are an incredible source of expertise, advice, ideas, and sheer creative energy. Roger Billins Isabelle Gillard Lesley McLeod Paul Meyer is a freelance consultant. He has been the Chief Executive of two medical charities concerned with supporting The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and University College London Hospitals. For many years he has been Chairman of the Roxwell Music Festival. He sits on the Advisory Committe of the Unicorn Theatre for Children. Dr Liz Nelson OBE Liz Nelson started the company Taylor Nelson (now TNS plc) in 1965; it has become the world's second largest market research company. In 1992 she left TNS to become the first Director of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. From 1997-2002 she was Chair of the South West London Community Trust, and more recently became the Director of the Chronic Granulomatous Disorder Research Trust. She is currently Chairman of Q Research, and of Colourful Network Radio. She has honorary doctorates from City Universiy and Open University. She is a gold medallist of the British Market Research Society. Charles Pridgeon Charles Pridgeon is Head of Continental European Property for Schroeder's in Germany. Prior to joining Aareal Bank, Charles worked in the City for 13 years, most recently as head of real estate investment banking at Deutsche Bank (1993-2001). A specialist in raising capital, banking and the restructuring of financial institutions, Charles has put his fund raising and financial knowledge to good use in his six years as a Director on the Ambache Board. Charles is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and is fluent in German, French and Dutch. David Ryland David Ryland was for many years a Creative and Board Director of Ogilvy & Mather, London, one of Britain's largest advertising agencies. He has written advertising campaigns for clients as diverse as Ford and the Woolwich, Kotex and the Sunday Times. He has acted as communications consultant for the Red Cross in London and Geneva. His daughter has two MAs, his wife will soon have one. He has retained his Bachelor status. Roy Sutherwood Roy Sutherwood is a senior corporate affairs and media consultant and is on the advisory board of Four Gritti Healthcare. From July 2003 until November 2004 he was Associate Director, Corporate Affairs for Pfizer Ltd. Before entering the pharmaceutical industry, Roy was Assistant Director, Head of News, in the Communications Division of the Department of Health and a member of the Division's Management Board.