Guildhall School Trust

Our Donor Promise

Much of the work of the Guildhall School Trust and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama would not be possible without philanthropy.

Scholarship donations support over half of Guildhall School students, give them access to world class training with our expert staff, enable worldwide performance opportunities, and allows them to develop all the skills they need to shape their future, both as creative individuals and artists within our society. Donations also ensure that our students train in outstanding facilities, and enable students and staff to run transformative projects with local community organisations.

We are committed to ensuring that all our donors feel valued and we want the experience of giving to Guildhall to be a positive one.

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The Hon Emily Benn is an Executive at Hakluyt and Company, and an elected member of the City of London Corporation.

Aged 17, Emily was selected as the youngest Parliamentary candidate in the UK’s history, and subsequently stood in the 2010 and 2015 General Elections as a Labour candidate. Professionally, she has been an investment banker, think tank director, festival director, and researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She was elected onto the City of London Corporation in 2022, and is a councillor for Bread Street Ward.

She started playing the violin aged five, and studied at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, and conducted the Oxford New Orchestra at university. She co-founded and leads the Statutory Instruments and the UK Parliamentary String Quartet, and is a Governor of Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Appointed Clerk/CEO of the Musicians Company in 2024. Former Chief Executive of Shakespeare's Globe in October 2010. In 2017, Neil was named alongside Emma Rice, the Globe's then-Artistic Director, as the joint 10th most influential people working in theatre and the performing arts in The Stage's Top 100.

Neil trained in Stage Management & Technical Theatre at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has worked extensively in the theatre and arts industry for over 35 years, latterly running cultural organisations. He is a Governor, Trustee or Member of a number of other organisations, including the Chartered Management Institute, Society of London Theatre, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Royal Theatrical Support Trust. 

Matt Green is a Technical Theatre graduate from the School, who is a widely experienced and versatile Strategy Director with almost 30 years’ experience working alongside the financial and professional services sectors supporting and delivering small, medium and large corporate events, video production and professional storytelling. From conferences, leadership off-sites, awards and exhibitions Matt has created successful experiences, bringing communication, networking and experience management skills and a passion for speaking with people, from which he has created a multi-national business based on the art of conversation. 

Gina Hartnett is a finance lawyer, working over two decades in senior roles in law firms and financial institutions; she is currently responsible for transaction structuring in private debt and credit alternatives at Schroders Capital.  Her work necessitates in-depth engagement with a broad range of legal, regulatory, commercial and operational matters - she has strong relationships across a wide network.  

Gina holds an LLB from the University of Kyoto, and an MBA from Henley Business School.  Having been an international student, and having lived and worked internationally during her career, she is especially inspired to support those seeking excellence at GSMD as international students; through other board roles and experience of close family members, has seen closely the challenges of funding in the arts. 

Managing Director, Ninety One plc (previously Investec Asset Management)

Ms Huo is the Managing Director, Head of International Business and Head of Investment Institute at Ninety One plc, an asset management business which is dual-listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE250) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Ninety One is a founder-led global investment manager.  

Prior to joining the firm, she spent 12 years at HSBC within its investment banking. As co-Head of Sustainable Finance within Global Banking and Markets, she was responsible for green and sustainable product innovation across financing and investment. She was also Global Head of RMB Business, where she led the overall China and RMB internationalization strategy, revenue growth, product innovation and wider strategic client execution.

Ms Huo is a Visiting Fellow at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She has recently graduated from Harvard Business School and is an Alumni there.

She chairs the international workstream at for City of London’s Green Finance Initiative and leads overall China engagement. She sits in the Senior Steering Group for the UK Government’s Green Finance Institute. She is also the Chair of the UK’s ESG Leadership Forum. In 2021, Ms Huo has been appointed as a Board member/trustee of both the City of London Guildhall School and its Investment Committee.

Ms. Huo was recognized by Financial News as one of the 100 most Influential Women in Finance for three consecutive years and has also won the Chinese Business Leaders Award for Excellence in Banking. Ms. Huo has been awarded as a Freeman of City of London in recognition of her contribution in Finance and cross border business collaboration.

Ms Huo also holds a Master of Science degree with Distinction from The Business School (formally Cass) in London, UK.

Barbican resident Gillian has supported the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for many years and, through the Guildhall School Trust, contributes annually to a scholarship for a postgraduate voice. She used to sing seriously as an amateur and believes that those embarking on such a competitive career deserve encouragement and support.

Gillian's early career was in marketing and advertising with several major international organisations, including ICI, Max Factor and Ogilvy and Mather. Following a Sloan Fellowship at London Business School she joined a management consultancy start up, Kinsley Lord, whose speciality was facilitating behavioural and cultural change in complex organisations. She contributed to the growth which enabled it to become the leader in its field and worked at the highest level in organisations in the private, public and not for profit sectors. 

Winny Li is the Group Treasurer at PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, having graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MPhil, Distinction in Management Studies in 1998. Winny started her finance career at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, where she worked in many industries and become a qualified Chartered Accountant now a fellow Chartered Accountant as well.  This provided valuable experience, leading Winny to working for the global media enterprise, Viacom. At Viacom, she travelled extensively, accumulating further management consulting expertise whilst working in different business environments and cultural settings. Almost 20 years ago, Winny joined the fast-growing pharmaceuticals company PPD. She contributed to the significant growth of the company including in M&A, delisting, IPO and market expansions. Winny worked as a Global Executive Finance Director then later took on further professional training with ACT and set up PPD’s Treasury Function. In a past interview, Winny was described as ‘having a willingness to up sticks and move to where the action is, plus a strong commitment to the treasury and finance discipline, Winny Li's career has all the hallmarks of the exemplary 21st-century treasurer and f inance leader.’ As a company director, Winny helps to develop business strategies; As a mentor, Winny is keen to coach and nurture young professionals with their career developments; As a senior executive, Winny is  heavily involved in a number of initiatives within and outside of organization, such as Diversity and Inclusion, Women Network and Community Actions; As a public speaker, Winny attends many global conferences, promoting and sharing best practices.  Outside work, Winny is passionate about Music and Drama education, as she truly believes Music and Drama transform live. 

Deborah Lincoln is a Communications, Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility professional working across the private, public and voluntary sectors. She was SVP, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs International, Warner Bros. Entertainment (2007-2020), and before that, headed Communications for Pearson (then owner of FT and Penguin Books). She was Political Advisor to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and previously led The Labour Party's women's organisation, developing policy and campaigns to increase the representation of women.

She also worked in senior roles for national charities including MacMillan Cancer Relief, The Prince's Trust and Prince's Foundation (HRH The Prince of Wales) and Friends of the Earth. She is Finance Committee Chair and Trustee for Oxford School of Drama and was Chair of Watford Palace Theatre (2015-2022). She is a co-opted Board member of political Quarterly (PQ), representing PQ as a Trustee on The Orwell Foundation. She has an MSc Econ in Politics from the LSE.

Julian Miezitis is an alumnus of Guildhall, completing the Masters in Jazz performance (trumpet) in 2007-8.    Born and raised in Australia, he developed a passion for jazz from an early age while playing in various school and regional brass bands.  Nowadays his primary musical outlet is teaching piano to his two children and playing himself when he has time.    He is currently retaking his ABRSM piano exams.   He is a passionate supporter of the arts and regularly attends various Guildhall and other events across London.

Away from music, he has degrees in Law (hons) and economics and works as a  lawyer having spent significant time employed by major global law firms such as Baker &  McKenzie and Ashursts (formerly Blake Dawson Waldron in Australia).  He is currently a General Counsel at multinational, Associated British Foods plc based in London.    He has lived and worked professionally for significant periods on three continents (Australia, the US and the UK).  

Educated at Ampleforth College and St Benet’s Hall, Oxford, Philip has been an independent theatre producer for over 20 years. Prior to that, he spent many years in the insurance industry, where he still retains an interest as a partner and consultant in a private clients insurance broker in West London.

Philip’s production company, Nicoll Entertainment, is one of the UK’s leading producers of children’s theatre and the company’s current productions include “The Tiger Who Came To Tea” (which was nominated for an Olivier award in 2012), “Dinosaur World” and “Dragons and Mythical Beasts” (which was nominated for an Olivier award in 2022). These productions have toured the UK (including seasons in the West End), the Middle and Far East, China, Australia and the United States.

From 2013 until early 2022, Philip was a member of the Development Board at RADA and, prior to that, held a similar role at LAMDA (2002 – 2011).

Away from the theatre, Philip has been a school governor at two schools in Hampshire and Kent and is, currently, the Chair of Trustees of The Duchess of Leeds Foundation For Boys and Girls, a charity which provides bursaries to children in secondary education.

Philip’s other interests include horse racing, tennis, cricket, cinema and travel.

Gunjan Sharma is a highly experienced, New York qualified attorney who specialises in complex international disputes and the world’s most important public international law matters. He holds a Jurisdoctorate from New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (International Law, Institution and Ethics) from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. – where he was awarded a Krogh Scholars Honor’s Medallion and a certificate in Asian Studies.

Gunjan has represented States before the International Court of Justice and private entities and States in numerous multi-billion-dollar investor-State arbitrations. He has served as an expert witness on behalf of North American State on matters of sovereign immunity, public international law and administrative law. He has practices before a wide range of U.S. federal and state courts. He has also acted as senior and lead counsel to parties in international commercial arbitrations.

Caroline Stockmann was Chief Executive of the Association of Corporate Treasurers from February 2017 to April 2023. 

Prior to that Caroline had 20 years’ experience in senior finance, commercial and strategic posts at a number of not-for-profit and commercial organisations. These included British Council, Save the Children International, Southbank Centre, Novartis Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland), Cadbury Schweppes, Granada plc and Unilever/ Bestfoods (Thailand, Netherlands and UK). Much of her working life has been spent overseas.

Caroline trained with KPMG and is a Fellow (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).  She has an ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting and has filled numerous roles on boards over the years, current roles including Board member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), member of the Finance and Investment Committee of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Deputy Chair of the International Group of Treasury Associations.  

Caroline is a linguist, musician, trained coach and passionate bell ringer, and is married with two children. She has an LGSM (Teacher’s) in Flute, a commissioned work by Northern Arts, and gave the first performance in the UK of Schwindl’s Flute Concerto.

Caroline has travelled the world running seminars on leadership and strategic influencing, often with a focus on diversity and inclusion, and has written courses on leadership for a number of organisations.

Jonathan joined Guildhall School in 2007 as its Director of Music, and was appointed Principal in 2022.

He attended a comprehensive school in a heavily industrial part of the Midlands and attributes his career to the free music lessons he received at school which were provided by Leicestershire’s outstanding music service. After studying double bass and piano at the Royal College of Music he became a member of the London Symphony Orchestra for ten years, where he was elected Chairman in 1999.

He went on to become Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for five years, before joining Guildhall School. 

Jonathan is currently studying for a PhD on the subject of ‘Artistic Citizenship and Performance Excellence in Music Conservatoires’. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and of Guildhall School, and was conferred the title of Professor of Music at Guildhall in 2021. He has been a Governor and board member for many arts organisations, and currently sits on the Young Classical Artist Trust and the Mendelssohn Boise Scholarship Foundation.

Christopher graduated from the three-year Acting course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2007. He has worked extensively in the media industry for over 17 years, leveraging the skills learnt at Guildhall such as resilience, empathy and discipline to achieve significant commercial success. He is a firm believer in the value of arts training on the wider economy and the opportunity to leverage creative skills in business.

Throughout his career, Christopher has been responsible for driving the commercial success of a broad portfolio of the world’s best known media brands including Vogue, WIRED, GQ, Conde Nast Traveller, The Daily Telegraph and The Economist. Christopher is currently leading the UK commercial division for Conde Nast in Culture.