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ABOUT US

History

The Foyle Foundation was formed to implement the will of the late Christina Foyle. She was the daughter of William Foyle who, with his brother, founded the former family owned bookshop Foyles in Charing Cross Road, London.

The Foyle Foundation was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in May 2000 No. 04006216 and was registered as a charity in July 2000 No. 1081766. The Foundation became operational in the Autumn of 2001.

The Foyle Foundation Completes its Grant Giving Programme in 2025

The Foyle Foundation will complete its grant giving programme in 2025, marking 25 years of giving to the fields of the Arts, Learning, Community Small Grants, State Schools Libraries and formerly Health.  Please also see Frequently Asked Questions.

How We Operate

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees who meet regularly throughout the year to review strategy, consider applications and make decisions on grants.  The Trustees and their profiles are listed below.

The Foundation is administered by a core team of seven.  The Chief Executive is David Hall and the Head of Grants & Operations is Nicola Phillips.

Past financial statements for The Foyle Foundation can be found on the Charity Commission website (the latest below).

Trustees of The Foyle Foundation

Michael Smith (Chair)

Michael Smith was educated at Cheltenham College and La Sorbonne, Paris. He qualified as a solicitor in 1970, specialising in company law and becoming senior partner of his law firm, Dechert, in 1990 from which he retired aged 56 in 2001 to take up various non-executive and pro bono roles.  His current appointments include being a non-executive director of W R Berkley Syndicate Management Limited (a Lloyd’s agency), a Trustee of the National Brain Appeal and Chairman of The Foyle Foundation.

Roy Amlot KC

Roy Amlot was educated at Dulwich College and called to the Bar in 1963.  He practised for 46 years in criminal law, retiring at the end of 2009.  He was Treasury Counsel for 14 years and took silk in 1989.  He was Chairman of the Bar in 2001 and Treasurer of Lincoln’s Inn in 2007.  He was head of his chambers for 10 years and served on the Queens Counsel Appointments panel for three years.

He was a governor of Dulwich College for 14 years, is a former Co-Chairman of the Feathers Association and former Trustee of the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law.  He is the Chairman of the Earls Court Youth Club and became a Trustee of The Foyle Foundation in 2010.

Sir Peter Duffell

After education at Dulwich and some journalism in Fleet Street Peter Duffell was commissioned into the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in 1960. He campaigned with his Regiment principally in the Far East and held a number of British Army command and staff appointments in Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Germany and in Whitehall at the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office before retiring from the Army in 1995 in the rank of Lieutenant General.

Subsequently Peter worked for a major International Law firm involved with its management, strategy and the direction of special projects in London and internationally particularly in Russia and China. Extra-curricular appointments have included membership of the Advisory Board of SOAS and the Trusteeship of various military charities. He is a Fellow of Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. His interests include the Arts and collecting pictures.

His historical memoir Gurkha Odyssey was published in 2019.

Peter became a Trustee of the Foyle Foundation in 2006.

Jane Ellison

Jane is a creative leader and independent consultant, advising on public engagement, editorial strategies, collaboration and communication. As Head of Creative Partnerships at the BBC,  she led the broadcaster’s work to deliver ambitious creative  projects with a wide range of arts organisations, such as the First World War Centenary Programme.

Jane’s past roles include programme maker, business journalist, editor, senior manager and commissioner for factual programmes at Radio 4, where she launched Book of the Week. She led A History of the World in 100 Objects, a landmark radio series made in partnership with the British Museum. She has written about partnerships in the cultural sector.

Jane is a Trustee of Libraries Connected, the sector support organisation for public libraries, and of Riverside Trust, the West London arts venue. She served on the government taskforce for public libraries in England, and on the Learning and Participation Committee of the Royal Opera House. She holds advisory roles at the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Imperial War Museum Associates  and Transparency International UK. She is a Board member of International Budget Partnership in Washington DC.

Dame Vikki Heywood DBE

Dame Vikki Heywood DBE (Lady Jones) was the Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Since stepping down in 2013 she has served two terms as Chairman of The RSA (the first ever to have done so), overseen the Warwick Commission on the Future of Cultural Value – a seminal report on the Creative Industries published January 2015, and led the five year First World War Centenary Arts Commissioning Programme, “14-18 Now”,  the Chairman of Mountview Drama Academy and oversaw completion of its new home in Peckham, and  Chairman of Festival UK 2022 – known as Unboxed.

Prior to her appointment at the RSC, Vikki was Joint Chief Executive of the Royal Court Theatre amongst other theatres companies, a board member of the Society of London Theatre, The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and a member of Warwick University Council as well as a number of other theatre boards.

She has been awarded two honorary doctorates from Ohio State University and the University of Birmingham – becoming a Doctor of Letters in December 2009. In 2012 she was awarded a CBE, for services to theatre and subsequently made a DBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2020, for services to the arts.

Jamie Korner

Jamie Korner read History at Cambridge and joined Inchcape in 1978 which he served in various roles, both in the UK and overseas, with a final posting to East Africa where he was responsible for the rationalisation of the Inchcape companies there.  His City career spanned periods at Fielding Newson Smith and Co (taken over by County Natwest) and at M&G, where he managed charitable and institutional funds, before joining Newton Investment Management in 1995 where he served as Director of Charities until 2011.  He retired as Charities Partner at Stanhope Capital LLP in 2019 and acts as trustee of, and adviser to, various charities in the educational and arts fields.

The Foyle Foundation Team

David Hall (Chief Executive)

David Hall worked in project management, general management and marketing, including international assignments in Saudi Arabia and Sweden, before undertaking his MBA, following which, he moved into the cultural sector 30 years ago.

 Prior to becoming The Foyle Foundation’s founding Chief Executive, he was Senior Consultant at AEA Management Consultants. He specialised in strategic development and business planning within the arts and heritage sectors. He also appraised major capital projects for the Arts Council of England, Scottish Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund.

 Currently serving on the Development and Bicentenary Committees of the National Gallery.  He was a member of the Learning and Participation Committee of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden until 2020 and a member of the Development Council of the National Theatre for 10 years, its Planning & Strategy Group and the NT Future £80M Campaign Committee.  He was a member of Arts Council of England London Committee until December 2016 and was a former Board Member of Money, Mission, Models.