The Achates Team
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The Achates Team
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Caroline McCormick
DirectorCaroline leads on major campaigns and organisational strategy. She has developed and delivered campaigns and processes of organisational change, in all art forms and scales of organisation across the country and internationally.
Caroline developed Achates’ audience informed approach which seeks to ensure arts organisations balance the interests of diverse audience groups with the priorities of art to enable resilience with integrity.
In 2005, having completed the £70 million capital campaign to create the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum, Caroline became the first Director of PEN International, heading up 145 Centres in 105 countries and acting as the Literature representative at UNESCO. Taking up the role four days a week also allowed her to start working with her first consultancy client, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai.
Caroline is Chair of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation and, in 2015, founded the national campaign for support for the arts, the Achates Philanthropy Prize. She is a Trustee of the National Centre for Writing and in 2022 she co-founded The London Ticket Bank and was included in The Stage’s 2023 list of the 100 most influential people in theatre.
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Fiona English
Director of StrategyFiona is Achates’ Director of Strategy and leads the development of strategic projects, whether for individual organisations, or at a local or regional level. Recent projects include a community informed business planning process with Chapter, Cardiff, which included a parallel process of staff and World Café community workshops and leading the Strategy and Fundraising Feasibility Studies for Bath Spa University’s new National Centre for Fashion.
Fiona has more than a decade’s experience in cultural strategy, fundraising and organisational change. From 2017-2021 she was the inaugural Executive Director of the King’s Head Theatre overseeing the organisation through a rapid period of growth and development, securing the new building in Islington Square as well as spearheading the fundraising campaign for the building. During Fiona’s tenure the venue raised £3m, partnered on a social enterprise nationwide training programme partnership with SSE, winning awards for its work both on stage and off stage, and implementing dramatic change to make the venue a healthy, happy place to work, including being awarded the highest Healthy Workplace accreditation of any theatre from the GLA.
Fiona has worked across the cultural sector for both subsidised and non-subsidised venues, arts festivals and within the education sector. She is a Champion for SheRaces, an organisation campaigning to increase the number of women on the start lines of races at amateur through to professional level in sports.
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Deborah Larwood
Director of Income GenerationDeborah Larwood leads on Achates’ income generation consultancy across the cultural sector. Work spans feasibility study development, fundraising strategy, taking a strengths-based approach to innovating products and services to drive additional earned income streams, mentoring and workshop delivery, major strategic bids and acting as Interim Director of Development. Deborah has recently delivered major donor strategy support to Youth Music and The Unicorn Theatre as well as undertaking capital feasibility studies for National Museum of Ireland and Newhampton Arts Centre and developing earned and contributed income generation programmes for Outside Edge Theatre Company and The Watermill Theatre.
With more than ten years’ experience in arts fundraising and income generation, Deborah has held senior positions in venue-based and touring cultural organisations as well as in the HE/FE sector, in both London and Yorkshire. Previous roles include Head of Development for Opera North where she oversaw the £18m Music Works capital campaign, Director of Development at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and Fundraising Manager at Sheffield Theatres.
Deborah is a passionate advocate of peer networking and continuing professional development and has acted as Mentor and Regional Associate for Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy, as well as serving on the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s RAISE Steering Committee. Deborah recently stepped down from the role of Chair of Harrogate Theatre Trust in North Yorkshire, where she served for six years.
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Vicki Grace
Director of Recruitment and Organisational ChangeBefore joining Achates as Director of Recruitment and Organisational Change Vicki was Executive Director at the award-winning theatre company Improbable, responsible for the business function of the organisation and project managing the company’s transition to a new building based model and a new home in Kent. Prior to that, she was Development Director at the Royal Court Theatre and Deputy Development Director at the Donmar Warehouse, specialising in income generation growth and managing complex stakeholder relationships.
She has held other fundraising roles at Shakespeare’s Globe and Guildhall School of Speech & Drama. Vicki is also COO of the Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research and a proud trustee of Theatre Uncut and Anotherway Now.
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Helen Gaffney
Senior ConsultantHelen is a Senior Consultant at Achates, working with a broad range of arts and cultural organisations across the UK to build income, develop audiences and strengthen governance.
Helen is an expert prospect research specialist and experienced fundraiser who currently splits her time between Achates and leading Arnolfini’s voluntary and commercial income, successfully shaping the case for the gallery’s economic, social and cultural value for a range of hyper-local and international communities and re-establishing an income model following the relaunch of the gallery in 2019.
She was most recently interim Head of Development at the Crafts Council, generating income for a range of education and talent development projects to reach regional audiences and participants, whilst also fundraising to reopen a home for craft, the new Crafts Council Gallery. She has also recently led on developing audiences and commercial income for high-profile London art fairs including Draw and Collect.
Helen was formerly Executive Director of Achates, leading the business through a period of significant growth across the cultural sector from 2016 – 2018, whilst also serving as the first Director of the Achates Prize which celebrates first time philanthropists to the arts.
Helen established her career in prospect research at both the Serpentine Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts, moving to The Old Vic to inaugurate a prospect research function and advise the Executive Director as Business Development Manager.
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Phoebe Walker
Senior ConsultantPhoebe works across our Recruitment and Development divisions. She is an expert prospect researcher, and her skills also span fundraising feasibility scoping, strategy development, major grants, corporate partnerships and capital campaigns. Phoebe has extensive experience of working across the breadth of the arts sector in a range of disciplines, as well as working with organisations focused on social justice and arts for social change.
Phoebe is an alumnus of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Fellowship Programme and has previously held roles in the Development teams of The Bush Theatre and Toynbee Hall as well as in the Education team at The Poetry Society. Her recent and current clients include RADA, New Art Exchange, PalMusic, Freedom Studios, Bradford City of Culture, East London Waterworks Park, and Newcastle Lit & Phil. Phoebe is also a published poet and novelist.
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Olivia Highland
Senior ConsultantOlivia has worked in a range of directing, producing, stage management and theatre education roles, both in London and regionally. In 2011, Olivia joined The Old Vic – which operates without any regular government subsidy – working in various positions within the corporate development team, ultimately leading the 15-strong team as Co-Director of Development until 2023. In this role, she was responsible for developing and leading The Old Vic’s fundraising strategy to deliver ambitious revenue and capital fundraising targets, and building sustainable, long-term growth in philanthropic and corporate support. As a member of the Senior Management Team at The Old Vic and Trustee of English Touring Theatre, Olivia brings expertise in strategic planning, management and leadership, as well as a rich understanding of the NPO and touring landscape.
As Senior Consultant at Achates, Olivia specialises in research, working across both our Development and Recruitment and Organisational Change divisions. She supports organisations to identify and target new and wider sources of funding, based on a strong theory of change model; as well as transferring her skills to candidate research to identify and approach outstanding individuals for senior development, executive and creative leadership and trustee/chair roles.
Olivia’s recent clients in both these areas include Complicité, the Albany, Bush Theatre, Shubbak Festival, Macrobert Arts Centre, Without Walls, First Story and Orange Tree Theatre.
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Liz McCaffry Payne
Senior ConsultantLiz joined Achates in June 2024 having worked extensively in arts, heritage and cultural organisations for fifteen years. Most recently as Fundraising Co-Director at Kiln Theatre. Liz worked with the new Executive team to develop and maximise philanthropic and earned income alongside the stewardship and cultivation of new and existing relationships.
She has experience across all aspects of philanthropic giving and is a Trusts and Foundations specialist with a strong track record in securing multi-year grants and leveraging Lottery and Statutory funding for ambitious strategic projects.
Career highlights include working on the design and implementation of Bletchley Park’s multi-million-pound fundraising strategy to complete restoration of the WW2 heritage site. Revenue projects include developing strategic co-created community driven projects at both Kiln Theatre and Milton Keynes Museum.
Liz believes that access to the arts is a powerful catalyst for change and is motivated by supporting cultural organisations to increase their income generation potential and deliver maximum impact for and with communities.
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Jacoba Bruneel
ConsultantJacoba has nearly a decade of experience in development roles. Having managed a wide variety of income strands, she has a comprehensive understanding of the motivations of different supporters and the importance of an organisation-wide, integrated approach to development to grow fundraised income.
As Consultant at Achates, Jacoba works with a wide range of clients to review their fundraising strategies, conduct prospect research across individuals, corporates and trusts and foundations, and develop trust bids. Recent clients include Grand Junction, Northern Ballet, Northern Ireland Opera, and Soho Theatre.
Throughout her career, Jacoba has been driven by an ambition to make the arts accessible to the widest possible audiences while supporting the production of new work and nurturing artists at all stages in their careers. Most recently, as Development Manager at The Hepworth Wakefield, Jacoba has overseen strategic grant applications, the growth of membership and patron schemes, corporate sponsorship and partnership packages. She supported The Hepworth Wakefield’s application to the iniva Future Collect programme and led on fundraising for the acquisition of the resulting commission.
Jacoba has previously worked for STUK (Belgium), Gasworks, Tate, and Contemporary Art Society.
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Cara Sutherland
ConsultantCara has over 15 years of experience in a wide variety of roles within arts, culture and heritage organisations. After almost a decade of leading on strategy and development roles within the sector, Cara has most recently worked as a freelance fundraising & evaluation consultant. She has a wealth of experience working with organisations and communities to secure funding for ambitious and meaningful projects, as well as supporting them to embed evaluative practices into what they do.
Cara’s passion for working collaboratively with organisations and communities has led her to work with inspirational people across the UK. From co-designing and establishing the Mental Health Museum with NHS Trust service users and staff, to overseeing grant applications and implementing evaluation frameworks with organisations such as Sheffield Theatres, Greentop Community Circus Centre, and the Royal College of Nursing, she has rooted her expertise in her diverse experience within the sector.
Having joined Achates in June 2024, Cara has brought her enthusiasm for cultivating curiosity and joy within her work. She is driven to provide expertise with utility, helping organisations to identify their needs, increase their income generation, and better understand their impact.
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Victoria Hibbs
Chief Operating OfficerVictoria is Achates’ Chief Operating Officer. She brings over 25 years of arts sector experience to the role both from an administrative and producing perspective and has first-hand insight to the challenges and complexities of fundraising and strategic planning, particularly within the theatre and events industries.
Having trained as a stage manager at Bretton Hall College in Yorkshire, she then spent 12 years working nationally and internationally in a variety of stage management roles ranging in scale from community touring companies to international circus acts (De La Guarda at the Roundhouse, Camden and the Rio, Las Vegas), large-scale events such as the Millennium Dome and the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. She was awarded Stage Manager of the Year in 2003.
In 2004 Victoria diversified into producing, administration and finance, spending several years in a variety of consulting, administrative, finance and development roles, most specifically supporting the organisational growth and development of the award-winning Omnibus Theatre in Clapham.
Victoria is also Executive Director and CEO for Attic, a small-scale arts organisation based in LB Merton.
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Barbara Baric
AdministratorBarbara joined Achates in August 2024, bringing with her extensive experience in the music industry, technology sector, and recruitment. As a seasoned professional, she has been instrumental in identifying and securing top-tier talent for clients, significantly contributing to their growth and success. Her career uniquely blends her musical background with her current
pursuits in technology, recruitment, and business development, highlighting her versatility across various industries.
In addition to her role at Achates, Barbara is part of the business development team at Music Traveler, a startup that connects musicians with venues. She is also a freelance singer, showcasing her talent across a range of genres, from jazz to opera. -
Dagmar Walz
Senior AssociateDagmar has worked for some of the UK’s leading performing arts organisations, including the RSC, National Theatre, English National Opera and The Old Vic in Learning, Audience Development, Project and General Management. She was Executive Director of innovative youth arts charity IdeasTap from 2011 – 2014, where she set up a new fundraising operation and tripled contributed income.
Today, Dagmar is based in Paris and works for international clients in Belgium, China, France and the UK. Her focus is on income generation, organisational development, business planning and large-scale projects.
Recent assignments for Achates include the establishment of a delivery and legacy organization for London Borough of Culture Brent, vision and programme development for Symphony Hall Birmingham, the Roundhouse’s Next Generation campaign and the most recent round of ACE NPO applications.
