Culture Secretary Reappoints two Historic England Commissioners
The Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has re-appointed Alex Balfour and Victoria Harley as Commissioners for Historic England until 31 May 2021.
Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England, said: “I am delighted to announce the reappointment of Victoria Harley and Alex Balfour as Commissioners of Historic England, each for a further four year term. They bring invaluable expertise in areas ranging from the management of heritage and the challenges faced by private owners, to digital engagement, all of which are important components of our corporate strategy and plan. As such they really strengthen our Board and will help us face the challenges ahead together.”
Alex Balfour
Alex Balfour is a globally recognised leader in building digital capability and optimising digital performance for sport, media, consumer and entertainment brands. Alex is currently Chief Executive Officer of Digital Brand Services. Previously Alex was Chief Digital Officer of Haymon Boxing, the creators of Premier Boxing Champions which reintroduced boxing to prime time network television in the USA for the first time in 30 years.
Before that Alex Balfour was Head of New Media for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). At LOCOG he built a team from scratch that has delivered 77 digital channels and over 100 social media presences to a worldwide audience of over 150 million during the Games in 2012. Alex’s career in digital media began in 1994. Since then he has edited GE’97, the UK’s first General Election Website, made the first consumer Internet call to a traditional telephone and developed the first online government consultation. He went on to become part of the team that produced the Guardian Newspaper’s first significant websites.
Victoria Harley
Victoria Harley is a manager of Brampton Bryan Estate, Herefordshire, and concentrates on preservation and reuse of traditional historic buildings, together with landscape conservation.
Through links with the Historic Houses Association, she has wide experience in the management of historic houses. She was previously director of Sotheby’s Carpet Department and latterly a freelance consultant.
She served on the National Trust Midlands Advisory Board for seven years and was a trustee of the Offa’s Dyke Association. Victoria is a member of the Hereford Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee and is a governor of two schools. Victoria was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2014. She serves additionally on the Historic Estate Conservation Committee, the Designation Review Committee, and the Ditherington Flax Mills Programme Board.
