Troubled charity the English National Opera has announced the appointments of a new chief executive and chair, after seeing a number of high-profile departures.
The ENO has announced the appointments of chief executive Cressida Pollock and chair Harry Brünjes.
Pollock and Brünjes have both been acting in the roles for several months.
The ENO has faced widespread criticism in recent months after the departure of the charity's artistic director, John Berry, who had been with the organisation for 20 years.
The charity had also been placed under a "special funding arangement" by the Arts Council England.
Brunjes (pictured) - an ENO trustee of five years - was appointed with “immediate effect”. His appointment follows a three-month recruitment and benchmarking process, managed by a selection panel of trustees in consultation with Arts Council England (ACE), the ENO said.
In a statement yesterday, Brunjes said: “It has been a privilege to serve on the ENO board for the past five years and I’m delighted to take on the role of chair at such an exciting, transformational time.
“I look forward to leading a company dedicated to producing the highest quality opera which is accessible to everyone and to securing the future of our iconic building.”
Pollock has been acting chief executive at the charity since March and will continue to steer the charity on a three-year fixed-term contract.
A statement by ENO yesterday said the decision to extend her appointment follows “her excellent progress in leading the organisation, bringing additional focus to operations and developing a new strategic business plan for the company”.
Pollock said the organisation faced “significant challenges” to reduce our reliance on public subsidy.
But she said she was “convinced we can succeed and that, with our world-class team, we can continue to produce brilliant opera for audience members in London and around the UK.”
ENO was one of the biggest losers in funding cuts by ACE in July last year, with a reduction in funding of nearly a third, to £12.4m a year. The cuts followed revelations that ENO had struggled to meet box office targets.
In January, former chair Martyn Rose said he was stepping down before the end of his term, after two “challenging and testing” years in the wake of funding uncertainty.
Yesterday ENO said it was undertaking a “full evaluation of the artistic leadership” following the departure of John Berry in July.
It said: “For the 2015/16 season, ENO’s artistic leadership team will comprise Mark Wigglesworth as music director and Terri-Jayne Griffin as producing director with John McMurray becoming senior artistic advisor and Bob Holland taking on the role of programming director.
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