Rupert Gavin |
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 Portrait of Rupert Gavin (2020) |
| Born | (1954-10-01) 1 October 1954 (age 69)
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| Nationality | British |
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| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, businessman and impresario |
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| Known for | Management of creative companies; arts production |
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Sir Rupert Alexander Gavin (born 1 October 1954) is a British businessman and theatre impresario.
Formerly CEO of BBC Worldwide and Odeon Cinemas as a producer/financier, he has produced/coproduced a series of plays and musicals through his company, Incidental Colman.
Gavin serves as Chairman of Historic Royal Palaces and HMG Honours Committee for Arts and Media.
Current roles
In 2015 Gavin was appointed chairman of Historic Royal Palaces, the charity responsible for the management and conservation of the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kew Palace, and Hillsborough Castle.[1] His tenure was extended for a second term in May 2018.
He is executive chairman of the theatre production company Incidental Colman, which has produced/co-produced in the West End and on Broadway and won seventeen Olivier Awards.[2]
He is also Chairman of the HMG Honours Committee for Media and the Arts and commenced his second term as of January 2019. He is a Senior Assistant of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, having served as Master for 2017/18. He is serving as the Chairman of the Living Room Cinema, the new start-up cinema chain.[3] Gavin is a director of the West End industry body, SOLT.[4]
Gavin was knighted in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama, the arts, heritage and the economy.[5]
Early career
Gavin was educated at Magdalene College at the Cambridge University, where he had an exhibition in economics. After graduation, and a stint as a film script writer, he took a copywriting role at Sharps advertising agency where he would eventually become an equity partner before it was sold to Saatchi & Saatchi.[6] While working at Sharps he established close links with Dixons Stores Group,[7] and would eventually become deputy managing director of the electronics retailer.[7][8] In 1994, he joined British Telecom to work on its internet and multimedia strategy; he became managing director of the firm's consumer division. In 1998, he became chief executive of BBC Worldwide. He was CEO of Odeon Cinemas and UCI Cinemas Group from 2006 to 2014[9][10]
Gavin has also served as Board member and shareholder of Ambassador Theatre Group, Chairman of DNeg plc, Chairman of Contender Entertainment Group,[11] Chairman of Screenstage, NED and audit Chair of Wyevale Garden Centres, NED of Countrywide plc and Virgin Mobile plc, Governor of the National Film and Television School and Treasurer of the Contemporary Art Society.[12]
Recent theatre productions, co-productions and financings
In 2012 the Evening Standard newspaper dubbed Gavin "Mr West End" about London's Theatreland. Productions/co-productions by Incidental Colman have won seventeen Olivier awards for either Best New Play, Best Play Revival, Best New Musical, Best Musical Revival or Best Entertainment.[13][14]
Personal life
Gavin married Ellen Miller in 1991; the couple has two daughters, Alexandra and Isabella, and live in London. Debrett's lists his leisure activities as "...theatre producer, lyricist and gardener". He is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society.[15]
Charitable activities
Gavin is Chairman of the charity Historic Royal Palaces.
He has been a lifelong contributor to the Grocers' Charity, which supports a range of small charities. He currently sits on the Education and Charities Committee of the Grocers' Company. He is a Patron of the Hay Literary Festival, the London Library, and the Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival. He sits on the Development Council of the Almeida Theatre.
Ancestry
He is of direct descent from James Gavin (b 1658), the Kirk Beadle of Lunan, Angus, and the family motto is By industry we prosper.[16]
