The strategy group

Special Adviser with the Ingenious Group, Visiting Fellow in Creative Industries, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

Martin is Special Adviser at Ingenious, a British investment business specialising in the media and energy sectors and best known for its investments in UK and Studio films. He advises Ingenious on corporate PR, government relations and public affairs and speaks for the company in numerous forums nationally and internationally.

Martin works with Ingenious founder Patrick McKenna on philanthropic, arts, social investment and education projects and also runs his own consulting firm, West Bridge Consulting.  Prior to establishing West Bridge he was a partner at the Brunswick Group LLP where his clients included government agencies and private sector clients in the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, France, Germany and the USA as well as in the UK.  Before that he worked in consumer affairs and public policy roles in London and Brussels and was a TV reporter for Thames TV in the early days of Channel 4.

Martin is chairman of classical music venue St John’s Smith Square, Westminster and a former chairman of the Young Vic Theatre Company. He was a member of the Project Advisory Group for the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s Cultural Value Project, is an adviser to the National Film & Television School (NFTS), He also works with BAME creative business incubator MeWe360, which is a joint venture between Ingenious and Arts Council England (ACE).

Professor of Cultural Economy, Director Centre for Culture and Creative Industries, City University of London, UK

Andy is an internationally acclaimed expert on the topic of the cultural industries. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. He has held academic appointments at University College London (Bartlett School of Planning) and LSE (Geography, and Urban Research Centre), King’s College, London (Culture, Media and Creative Industries). 

Andy specializes the analysis of the cultural industries in the US, Europe and Japan. His research interests concern all aspects of the cultural economy: from ideas through production, distribution, consumption and reflection/knowledge.  He has worked as a consultant or advisor for national and urban policy makers, and the EU, UNESCO, UNCTAD, and WIPO, and the British Council. He has had major recent research projects including AHRC Creative Economy Hub: Creative works london (2012-2016), the cultural and creative industries in India (2008–2010), Innovative spaces (2008–2009). He has published over a hundred books, chapters and articles – his recently co-authored publication is the 'Creative Hubs Report: 2016'.

Director of Cultural Services, Glasgow Life, Scotland, UK

Jill has been Director of Cultural Services for Glasgow Life since 2009 and held equivalent posts in Glasgow City Council’s Cultural and Leisure Services Department from 1999. 

As a Director of Cultural Services Jill provides leadership for Arts & Music, Museums and Collections and leads on key initiatives such as Volunteering and Equalities. She also plays a lead role for the city’s arts sector, focusing on building partnerships and enabling artists and arts organisations to develop and realise their ambitions. She is championing in developing Glasgow’s Museums, as well as leading on Glasgow’s Concert Halls, UNESCO City of Music and events such as Celtic Connections and developments, such as the refurbishment of Glasgow’s iconic Kelvin Hall. Jill led on the enhancing Tramway’s role as a centre for contemporary art and performance, this culminated in Tramway being the first Scottish host of the Turner Prize in 2015.

Jill comes from a creative background which has provided extensive public and voluntary sector experience graduating from the Scottish College of Textiles she worked as a freelance community artist, facilitator and trainer before joining Fife Council as an Arts and Disability Officer in 1990.

Askhat Saduov, Deputy Head of Centre for Urban Science in Astana, Kazakhstan where he leads on city ‘livability’ initiatives for the municipal government. From 2002 to 2006 he studied at Gumilyov Eurasian National University, majoring in Architecture and from 2006 to 2015 he worked as a practicing architect.

He joined the Centre of Urban Science in Astana in September 2016 and one of his first major assignments was for Astana Expo 2017 where he was in charge of styling pavilions and public spaces. Askhat participated as a delegate in Creative Central Asia 2017 and hosted a dialogue forum with the British Council in March 2017 to consider the results of Kazakhstan’s first creative economy mapping study.  

Daniyar Amanaliyev, Founder of Ololo Art Studios and Co-working Space in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Until 2016 Daniyar and his wife, Ainura had held various senior management positions at large companies in tourism and commercial real estate sectors. They launched Ololo as a start-up in February 2016 and aspired for it to be Central Asia's number one arts academy (primarily for music, fine arts and literature).

However, in addition to its arts education remit, Ololo has grown into an event platform and a network of co-working centres. As a result, Daniyar is involved in a range of social projects which include, amongst other things, initiatives such as Musical Erkindik, a monthly festival of street musicians (x12 festivals so far) and Arts Wednesdays, free open lectures to local communities about the arts.

Timur Kamalov, Head of Division for Implementation of Programmes for Culture, Arts, Education, Investment and Patronage at the Foundation for Development of Culture and Arts, Ministry of Culture, Uzbekistan.

Timur studied international relations with economics in the UK and Switzerland, after which he returned to Uzbekistan where he continued his education and gained a Master’s degree in International Relations and Politics from the University of the World Economy and Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He now plays a leading role in shaping Uzbekistan’s arts and cultural sector through management of the country’s main arts and culture funding instrument. Timur participated as a delegate in Creative Central Asia 2017.