Our Team

Meet the faces behind Akademi – a small team at the center of a large amount of activity.

Akademi Staff

Board of Trustees

Keith Khan was born in London, of Trinidadian Indian heritage, Keith began his career in the 1980’s working on pop videos, live art performances, and Trinidad and Notting Hill carnival. He went on to set up a company called Moti Roti, which refined and created an inspirational model for education, participation, exhibitions and shows. Keith has been involved in strategy and engaging people in the arts, serving on many boards as well as being the Head of culture for the London Olympic and Paralympic games.

Anu is a solicitor, specialising in immigration law. She initially graduated in Business Management before going on to qualify as a solicitor. Anu trained with a reputable medical negligence firm in Lincoln’s Inn, where she gained invaluable experience working with the highest calibre professionals and clients. Her first post-qualification role was as an ‘in-house’ lawyer for a well known multinational company.

“Kash” is a Chartered Accountant and MBA and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Kash retried recently after 30 years as Audit Partner & Director in several firms of Chartered Accountants in London and Bahrain. Kash is passionate about adding value and can draw on his knowledge in other specialisms such as corporate finance, business and strategic planning, corporate recovery and business tax. Kash is also Trustee and Treasurer to five other London charities.

Ann is Professor of Dance and Cultural Engagement at the University of Roehampton, specialising in dance anthropology and South Asian classical and popular dance. She has a BA Hons, MA (Dist) and a PhD in Dance Ethnography. Trained in ballet, contemporary and folk dance, bharatanatyam and kathak, she has published widely in journals. She has been a dance and cultural consultant on BBC radio and TV programmes and public talks include the V&A, the British Library, British Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Ann is passionate about the need for the arts and dance in education, working closely with policy makers in the arts and is on the Board of several arts organisations.

Rachel is Senior Producer at London Borough of Culture 2022 following her role as Head of Public Programming at UCL, working with academics, artists and the public to animate and make accessible the world-class research taking place at the University.

Prior to this, Rachel was Creative Producer, Festival Development and Head of Participation at Southbank Centre, directing international festivals and with a leading role in creating programmes designed to involve the widest communities in Southbank Centre’s work. Throughout her career, she has led initiatives which integrate artistic ambition with social impact to develop local, national and international connections.

Shravan is an international property developer and CEO of a boutique global macro hedge fund, Global Alpha Limited. His career spans 3 continents and 3 leading American investment banks. His functional specialism is Strategic Marketing. He was MD, Global Head of Sales & Marketing, Broker-Dealer Services at Bank of New York Mellon and previously Account Manager at Ogilvy & Mather (Advertising).

Sarah has almost 30 years’ experience in Human Resources (HR), the last 16 years as an HR Consultant with her own business  (Sarah Robson Associates).  Sarah specialises in providing strategic and practical HR advice to CEOs and Boards of small to medium sized companies, primarily in the cultural and not for profit sector.  Sarah is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and an Associate of Counterculture LLP.

Caroline has over 20 years of international experience in the innovation and digital industry and is currently the General Manager of Customer Experience & Innovation for Moody’s Analytics.

Caroline has worked for some of the world’s biggest brands including Yahoo, CNN International, Warner Media and Mastercard. Caroline has held a number of senior management roles leading large digital and innovation teams, and has worked across Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Emily designs, implements and artistically leads original dance projects. She has worked within participatory dance for over a decade, for organisations such as Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, English National Ballet and Siobhan Davies Dance.

In 2016 Emily founded Move Dance Feel, a Community Interest Company offering dance to women affected by cancer, and works in partnership with leading cancer support Centres to incorporate dance into their care programmes. Emily serves as a Dance for Health committee member for the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science.

Hannah is Head of Programmes at Breathe Arts Health Research where she oversees the strategic development and delivery of their award winning arts and health programmes, with research and evidence at the heart. Hannah is also a freelance Producer where she delivers a variety of arts programmes with schools, universities, professional artists, underrepresented community groups and NHS Trusts. During her career, Hannah has also developed inclusive dance projects with The British Council in Vietnam, Senegal, Armenia and Nigeria.

Akademi Patrons

  • Lord Swaraj Paul (Chief Patron)
  • Anish Kapoor CBE
  • Nirmalya Kumar
  • Nina Nannar
  • Surina Narula MBE
  • Anoushka Shankar
  • Alistair Spalding CBE
  • Kenneth Tharp CBE

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