Our South Kensington headquarters is managed by a team of specialists who bring together a wide range of valuable skills and experience.
David Barrie
Director
After studying Experimental Psychology and Philosophy at Oxford, David entered the Diplomatic Service in 1975. He served in various posts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Cabinet Office, at the British Embassy in Dublin, and was seconded from the Cabinet Office in 1989 to become Executive Director of The Japan Festival 1991, a major celebration of Japanese culture that took place throughout the UK. In 1992 he was appointed as Director of The Art Fund. An expert on Ruskin, his publications include an abridged edition of John Ruskin’s Modern Painters. David is a Trustee of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA); the Campaign for Museums; the Ruskin Foundation; and Butterfly Conservation. He is also a member of the MLA’s Acceptance-in-Lieu Panel.
Andrew Macdonald
Deputy Director
Andrew graduated from Cambridge University and then began his career at the BBC working on ‘Newsnight’ and ‘Panorama’. As Senior Foreign Editor at Channel 4 News, he was in charge of the programme’s international coverage for 10 years before becoming a freelance film producer making current affairs documentaries for both the BBC and Channel 4. He is responsible for grant-giving, public affairs and communications.
Jonathan Cubitt ACA
Finance Director
After leaving Exeter University, Jonathan qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and went on to work for both Binder Hamlyn and Arthur Andersen. On leaving the accountancy profession, he worked for the Royal Opera House Trust before joining the Art Fund in 1998. Jonathan is a trustee of several local charities and is a director of Fine Art Commissions Limited.
He is responsible for controlling the financial affairs of The Art Fund, including the production of annual accounts and budgets. Other key roles include risk management and planning, the human resource function and supervising the management and development of all IT systems.
Leigh Spiers
Director of Volunteering
Leigh Spiers joined The Art Fund as Director of Volunteering in April 2004. This post was newly created thanks to funding from the Monument Trust and emphasises The Art Fund's recognition of the crucial contribution that volunteers make to the organisation.
After more than 20 years as an NHS manager, Leigh took a career break to study Art History at the University of Sussex, after which she worked as an Assistant Curator at Charleston. She has degrees in both Business Administration and Art History.
A former chair of The Art Fund’s Volunteer Committee in Sussex, Leigh brings to the job an intimate understanding of volunteering; her role is to support the network of volunteers and co-ordinate their efforts to best effect.
Caroline Bugler
Editor, Art Quarterly and Review
Caroline Bugler studied Art History at Cambridge University and the Courtauld
Institute of Art, London. An editor and writer, she has worked for Penguin
Books, Marshall Cavendish Publications, Frances Lincoln Books and National
Gallery Publications. Her publications include Art in Focus: Vienna (Studio
Editions) and Dutch Painting (Phaidon Press).
