ISTD News: New CE

New ISTD Chief Executive

After 13 years with the ISTD, our current Chief Executive, Jon Singleton, will be leaving the Society on 9th April 2009. Having joined the ISTD in 1996 to set up the new Marketing & Publicity Department, he later took up the position of Chief Executive in March 2006. At the ISTD Dinner Dance on Sunday 15th March 2009, the Chairman of the Society, Peter Kyle, thanked him for his service to the ISTD. A presentation to recognise his contribution was made by Paddy Hurlings on behalf of the Society. In thanking the Chairman for his kind words, Jon noted what a privilege and honour it had been to serve the Society as Chief Executive. The evening provided an excellent opportunity for the guests to wish him well for the future and also to meet his successor, Julian Amey. Julian and his wife, Victoria, had been invited to the Dinner Dance as this provided such a wonderful opportunity to meet members of the Society.

Above (from left to right): Julian Amey, the new ISTD Chief Executive, with Chairman Peter Kyle and Jon Singleton at the ISTD Dinner Dance on Sunday 15th March 2009 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London (Photo: Elaine Mayson)

Julian Amey
Julian took over from Jon Singleton as Chief Executive of ISTD on 30th March 2009, having previously been Chief Executive Officer of Trinity College London, one of the UK’s leading examinations boards. His career spans educational publishing, broadcasting and qualifications.

Julian graduated from Cambridge University with an Honours Degree in Economics and Politics and joined the Longman educational publishing group as an Executive Trainee. He was posted to Spain to build Longman’s publishing activities in Spain and Portugal and after four years moved to Brazil to manage Longman’s educational business in Latin America. After 10 years overseas, he returned to Longman’s Head Office in the UK to become International Sales & Marketing Manager with responsibility for the Asia Pacific region and developed educational publishing businesses in the USA, Japan, SE Asia and China.

In 1989 he was recruited by the BBC World Service as Executive Director of BBC English, and was responsible for the radio, TV and publications output of his department. He brought together a £3m consortium consisting of the BBC, the British Council, Cambridge examinations and Pearson Longman to produce a 60 programme English teaching programme, which reached an audience over 100million around the world.

From the BBC, Julian moved to the Department of Trade & Industry and spent two years as an education and media specialist before joining Canning House as Director General in 1996. At Canning House, he led a cultural and educational programme linking the UK with Spain, Portugal and the countries of Latin America. The programme included dance competitions featuring the main dance genres of the Luso Hispanic world.

In 2001, Julian moved to become the Chief Executive of CIBSE, a professional engineering membership institution with over 20,000 members worldwide. He led a programme of events highlighting the threat of climate change and ways of mitigating it.

Julian has a lifelong passion for and commitment to the performing arts and has played Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, the Pope in Marlowe’s Dr Faustus and Alexander in Terrence Rattigan’s Adventure Story. In Brazil, he and his wife Victoria were members of the Ilha da Uniao samba school and participated in the Rio Carnival.

On joining ISTD he said: “I am excited and honoured to be joining the ISTD as the new Chief Executive. With its outstanding record of promoting dance in all its forms and providing qualifications for dance professionals around the world, the Society now has a great opportunity to expand its activities in the UK and internationally. I look forward to working with the ISTD staff, the Society’s members and its many partners and friends to make this happen.”