Business of Culture

Prior to that, she was the 7th and longest-standing Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre.

Trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, she was one of the first female Principal Dancers invited to join the all-male award-winning Phoenix Dance Company, touring with the company from 1989 to 1997, where she choreographed Never Still and Shaded Limits. Having left Phoenix to pursue a number of other ventures, including setting up her own company ABCD, Sharon returned in 2009 as the new Artistic Director.

During her tenure at Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sharon has received a number of awards and accolades: In 2010, she was named as one of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s ‘Women to Watch,’ a list of 50 influential women working in arts and culture in the UK. She recently received the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts’ Companionship Award from Sir Paul McCartney and was recognized as one of the ‘100 faces of a vibrant economy 2017’ by Grant Thornton. 

Watson’s recognitions are a testament to her continued passion and drive to contribute to the local and national creative industries through the medium of dance. She is committed to improving diversity within the arts by supporting the creative voices of women and black and ethnic minority artists.

He is known as the founder, CEO, and chairman of the board of capital investment company CapMan Oyj. Tolppanen is the owner and chairman of the board of the film production and distribution company Aurora Studios, Finnish Impact Filmfund, and Kulttuurikasarmi Oy. Tolppanen is a member of the steering group of the new Architecture and Design Museum and a member of the board of the Kiasma Support Foundation. Tolppanen is a long-term collector of Finnish contemporary art.  

Salin has extensive international experience in the museum, cultural, funding, university, and executive education sectors. She has expertise in building creative concepts and partnerships, developing private funding and business, and creating innovative approaches.

Ingrid Røynesdal made early contact with classical music because her father was a musician in the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. She studied piano at the Barratt Due Music Institute and the Norwegian Academy of Music with Jens Harald Bratlie, Jiří Hlinka, and Einar Henning Smebye as teachers. She graduated from the two-year soloist diploma program at the Norwegian Academy of Music in the spring of 2005, the same year she completed her master's degree in political science with a thesis on cultural policy.

Previously, she was director of the Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen in Bergen 2011–2013, chair of the board of the Ultima festival, and a commentator and reviewer in Aftenposten 2009–2011. She took over as director of the Oslo Philharmonic from Odd S. Gullberg in 2013.

With a background in creative industries and leadership, he has been working at the intersection of design, communication, and cultural development — making Designmuseum Danmark a relevant open platform and meeting place for designers, makers, users, and design lovers from all over the world.

Remlov was Artistic Director at Den Nationale Scene (The National Stage) in Bergen from 1986 to 1996, Managing Director and Executive Producer at the publicly-owned studio and production company Norsk Film AS until 2001, CEO at Den Norske Opera & Ballett (The Norwegian Opera & Ballet) from 2008 to 2014, and Artistic Director at Riksteatret (The Norwegian National Touring Theatre) for a fixed tenure ending in 2020.

Throughout his professional life, Mr. Remlov has been active as a public speaker, educator, translator, and writer and has served on a wide range of committees and boards. Apart from several directorships, he is today Adjunct Executive in Residence at BI Norwegian Business School at the Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour.

Dr. Pettersson is also an Adjunct Professor in Museology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and an Associate Professor at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Before moving to Stockholm, she worked as Director of the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery.

Dr. Pettersson has worked for more than twenty years in museums. Her posts have included Director General at the Nationalmuseum, Sweden, Director of the Finnish Institute in London, Director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Museum, and Director of Development at the Finnish National Gallery.

Dr. Pettersson’s research interests include museum history, collection studies, history of art history, and 19th-century and modern art, and she publishes widely. Her positions of trust include Board Membership of Aalto University (Finland), and she is President of the Board of the Finnish Institute in Japan.

Previously regional CEO of Publicis Communications, the world’s 3rd largest advertising and digital communications network, after selling Reputation, which he co-founded and grew as CEO. Alexander is represented on various boards, is a busy speaker at many corporate engagements, and combined his M.Sc in biochemistry (Copenhagen University) with an executive MBA degree.

Mikko Koskinen is one of the original minds behind Kyrö Distillery Company, a Finnish rye distillery born from a bold idea in a sauna. With a background in mechanical engineering and product development, Mikko brings a creative and human-centered approach to entrepreneurship. He currently leads Kyrö’s central marketing team, known for its distinctive and playful brand identity. Outside of work, Mikko is an adventurer at heart, passionate about diving and storytelling – always eager to share the spirit of Kyrö with the world.

Kaitue is currently the Chairman of the Board of Alexandria Bank and holds several different board positions internationally. Kaitue has been a Director at Ekokem Ltd and Deputy Managing Director at Outokumpu Ltd.

Kaitue’s current positions of trust are Chairman of the Board at Marinetek Group Ltd since 2021, Emilie Capital Ltd since 2018 and Filtra Group Ltd since 2020, and Board member in Elcoline Group Ltd since 2020, Suomen Messut Ltd since 2021, and Off Counsel in Nunziante Magrone, Rome, Italy, since 2021.

His former key positions of trust have been the Chair of CapMan Oyj, Destia Oyj, and Feon Oyj, and a Board member of Okmetic Oyj and Cargotec Oyj. Additionally, he has chaired the Finland University of the Arts. Among his extensive experience in manufacturing, technology, financial industries, and legal fields, he has a close experience and interest in the arts.

Since taking up the post in 2017, Dr. Hunt has prioritized support for design education in UK schools, expansion of the photography department, and encouraging debate around the history of the museum’s global collections.

Dr. Hunt’s priorities are focused on the transition to a multi-site museum, with V&A Dundee, the redesign of the Museum of Childhood, and the development of a new museum and open access Collections and Research Centre in Stratford, East London.

Prior to joining the V&A, Dr. Hunt was Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent Central and Shadow Secretary of State for Education.  He has a doctorate in Victorian history from Cambridge University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.  In addition to numerous radio and TV programmes for the BBC, he is the author of Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City (2005); Friedrich Engels: The Frock-Coated Communist (2009); and Ten Cities That Made an Empire (2014).

Kasper Holten (born 1973 in Copenhagen) was Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera 2000-2011 and Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden 2011-2017.

Holten has directed opera, drama, musicals and operetta in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Latvia, Germany, UK, France, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Israel, Argentina, Russia, China, Australia, Japan and USA.

Kasper Holten made his feature film debut in 2009 directing and co-writing Juan – a radical, fast-paced contemporary take on Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, which was praised at film festivals from Korea to Germany and the US.

Kasper Holten has directed more than 70 productions, including many at leading opera houses such as Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Opera Berlin and Teatro Real. His productions include: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Copenhagen), Carmen (Bregenz Festival), Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni and Meistersinger (Covent Garden), Der Rosenkavalier (Lyon), Idomeneo (Vienna) and Lohengrin (Berlin), as well as a number of new commissions. Several of his productions are available on DVD.

He is a sought-after motivational speaker on leading and developing extraordinary talents, and he has worked as a teacher at schools and Young Artists Programmes in Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

He is former Vice President of Opera Europa, has been a member of the Danish Radio and TV Board and the Danish Arts Council, and is an honorary professor at Copenhagen Business School. He has received a Knighthood and the medal ”Ingenio et Arti” from HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and is a Commander of Romania.

For further information, please go to www.holten.com

With a background in strategic communication, but with multiple award-winning CEO-experience from content agencies, start-ups, and collaborative digital platforms.

Anders Byriel has worked for over 30 years at Kvadrat, a company founded by his father Poul Byriel and Erling Rasmussen, and has overseen it since 1998. During Anders Byriel’s leadership, Kvadrat has grown from USD 16 mill. to USD 258 mill. in revenue.

Kvadrat produces high-quality textiles and textile-related products worldwide for private and public spaces and has won several significant international design awards. Those collaborating with the company include highly esteemed designers such as Peter Saville, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, architect David Adjaye, and many more.

The company was established in Ebeltoft, Denmark, in 1968 and has deep roots in Scandinavia’s world-famous design tradition. The word “kvadrat” means “square”, the primary design unit of all textiles.

Anders Byriel was ranked in the Top 20 influencers by Wallpaper magazine in October 2015, and in November 2015, he received the Owner/CEO of the Year Award from PricewaterhouseCoopers in Denmark. In 2018, he received the ‘Årets Ildsjæl’ award (the most passionate entrepreneur of the year) from Design Awards, and in 2019 he received the EY- Entrepreneur of the Year, Denmark award.

While working for Kvadrat, Anders Byriel was chairman of the Danish Design Council 2007 – 2012 and has also been chairman of various innovative companies such as ReD Associates. Anders Byriel also served as vice chairman of Aarhus 2017 European Capital of Culture.

Anders Byriel is a member of the board of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, the Museum Foundation, and the Louisiana Foundation (voted one of the ten most beautiful museums in the world). Byriel has also served as a member of the board of JP/Politikens Hus, one of Scandinavia’s leading media companies.

He has a master’s degree in law from Aarhus University and an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree from Copenhagen Business School (CBS). From 2020 to 2023, he attended the YPO Gold Harvard Presidents’ Program at Harvard Business School, Boston.