Dr Tristram Hunt and Dame Antonia Romeo DCB have been appointed to the Governing Board of The Courtauld Institute of Art and will serve from 1 August 2025 for an initial term of four years.
Tristram Hunt is currently Director of the V&A and Antonia Romeo became the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office in April 2025.
Lord Browne of Madingley, Chairman of The Courtauld’s Governing Board, said: “I am delighted to welcome the new members to our Governing Board. They join us at an exciting time in The Courtauld’s development and will bring a range of experiences and skills in support of our vision to be the world’s leading centre for the study and appreciation of the visual arts.”
Dr Tristram Hunt is Director of the V&A – a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. Since taking up the post in 2017, he has championed design education in UK schools, encouraged debate around the history of the museum’s global collections and overseen the transition to a multi-site museum.
Formerly MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, he has a doctorate from Cambridge University and is the author of several books including The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and The Transformation of Britain (2021). He is a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Art, the Scientific Council of the Musée du Louvre, and the UK Soft Power Council.
Tristram Hunt, said: “As Director of the V&A, I appreciate daily the knowledge, skills, and art historical insights which Courtauld graduates bring to the cultural sector. I am delighted to join the Governing Board to support a strategic focus on academic excellence and public engagement, as well as new opportunities for art history advocacy with the creation of The Manton Centre for British Art.”
Dame Antonia Romeo DCB became the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office in April 2025, with responsibility for national security, border security and public safety. She has held a number of senior roles in the civil service including Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and of the Department for International Trade, Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York, and Director General of Economic and Domestic Affairs in the Cabinet Office. Dame Antonia joined the Civil Service in 2000 as a professional economist following an early career in the private sector.