New Executive Director announced for Gresham College

1st November 2023, London:

-    Richard Smith OBE joins Gresham College from The Tank Museum.
-    Successfully reinvented The Tank Museum’s profile and hopes to replicate this success with this unique institution.
 

Gresham College, a unique institution that provides free educational lectures to the public, today announced the arrival of its new Executive Director, Richard Smith OBE.

Smith joins Gresham College from The Tank Museum, where over the past 17 years, he has overseen a £25m redevelopment and a surge in visitor numbers.

Prior to The Tank Museum, Smith worked in logistics for more than a decade, covering roles in marketing, operational management, and e-commerce, with stints in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Smith has a degree in History from Durham University and, in 2018, was awarded an OBE for services to military heritage.

Taking on the role of Executive Director at Gresham College, Smith wants to apply his learnings to help boost the education institution’s profile. 

Richard comments: “Gresham College is an incredible asset and resource for people living in London. A public educational institution that provides free lectures on a broad suite of subjects from some of the brightest minds our educational establishments have to offer, and yet too few people know about Gresham College and what it offers.”

“My task is to shine a spotlight on the College’s 400-year history, its founding motivations and the calendar of amazing events that take place every month, available to the public for free both in-person and online.”

Gresham has been providing free educational lectures, which are now live-streamed and available freely on YouTube, since 1597 when Sir Thomas Gresham’s idea became Gresham College. Previous professors include luminaries of the scientific revolution such as Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren, musicians, thinkers, and physicians. The College aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to champion academic rigour, professional expertise, and freedom of expression.

Dr Loyd Grossman CBE, the former journalist and founder of the well-known food brand with the same name, was appointed as chairman of Gresham College in 2019. Commenting on Richard’s appointment, he says: “In today’s society we are drowning in information but starved of real knowledge. Gresham College is in the business of top-notch learning, and Richard’s appointment signifies a new phase in our mission to reach a wider global audience, whilst breaking down the barriers to an academic education.”

To access past lectures, subscribe to Gresham College’s YouTube channel here: https://bit.ly/3PWYJZu 

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Notes to Editors

About Gresham College
Gresham College is a unique institution which makes world-class knowledge and high-quality education freely accessible to the public and was London’s first institute of Higher Education. We have been providing free educational lectures, which are now live-streamed and available freely on YouTube, since 1597 when Sir Thomas Gresham’s idea became Gresham College. Previous professors include luminaries of the scientific revolution such as Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren, musicians, thinkers, and physicians. The College aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to champion academic rigour, professional expertise, and freedom of expression.
Website: www.gresham.ac.uk

For media enquiries, please contact:
Liz Churchman
Deputy Managing Director, EC-PR
Tel: 07966 820320
Email: pr@gresham.ac.uk