Chilina Madon takes the reins as Director of Marketing and Sales having worked in the arts for 18 years, most recently as the Head of Marketing & Sales at Birmingham Hippodrome. Chilina previously worked for Clear Channel Entertainment as Marketing Manager for The New Theatre and Old Fire Station in Oxford and The Beck Theatre in Hayes. She is also a Trustee of Oxford Playhouse.

Laura Smith takes up the role of Director of Communications and Fundraising. Laura joined the organisation in 2016 as Head of Communications, transforming the communications strategy and cementing the teams’ reputation as an award-winning leader in delivering impactful communication campaigns.

Laura has spent 18 years working within communications, a large portion of that at national charities like Asthma UK and ActionAid, and more recently was Head of Communications and Marketing at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice. She also spent time working for government bodies on a number of high profile projects including the Cultural Olympiad as part of London 2012.

Chilina Madon said: “It is an exciting time for Birmingham Hippodrome as we celebrate our 120th Birthday and look to the future of the theatre. At the heart of our success is ensuring that we are accessible and relevant, attracting audiences from across the West Midlands to the enormously diverse productions on our stages as well as to our own produced high-quality events and festivals.

“I am delighted to take up this new role to play my part in delivering our continued success.”

Laura Smith commented: “Birmingham Hippodrome is one of the UK’s busiest theatres, and central to that is our ability to ensure the productions on our stages, along with the many free city-wide events and festivals we produce, connect with our audiences.

We look forward to welcoming even more visitors to Birmingham Hippodrome and creating compelling opportunities for business and supporters to engage with the arts. I’m excited to bring the Communications and Fundraising functions together in this new role as we embark on some ambitious plans over the next few years.”

Commenting on the new appointments, Chief Executive and Artistic Director Fiona Allan added: “It is wonderful to welcome both Chilina and Laura into their new roles which recognise their commitment to Birmingham Hippodrome as well as the skills and experience they bring as we celebrate the past 120 years and look to the future.

“Chilina and Laura bring a wealth of knowledge about our audiences which will be crucial in continuing our mission to enrich the cultural life of the region and our future ambitions for engaging with even more people from across our communities.”