Sir David Bell was appointed Chief Executive of the Financial Times in 1993 and became Chairman in 1996.

In July 1998 he was also appointed Pearson's Director for People with responsibility for the recruitment, motivation, development and reward of employees across the Pearson Group. In June 2003 he became Chairman of Pearson Inc in New York. He retired as a director of Pearson plc in 2011 after thirteen years on the Board.

In addition to this he is Chair of Council, Roehampton University, Chairman of Crisis, Chairman of Common Purpose, Chairman of the Transformation Trust and Chair of The Institute of War & Peace Reporting Europe. He is also a member of the International Youth Foundation Board, a member of Plan UK's Board, a trustee of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), a member of the Honorary Council of the Royal National Theatre and a non executive director of the Economist.

David received his knighthood for services to industry, the arts and charity.

Rab Bennetts is a founding director of the architectural practice Bennetts Associates. With offices in London and Edinburgh, the firm has twice been voted UK Architectural Practice of the Year in 2006 and 2011 and is responsible for award-winning projects such as the New Street Square development in the City of London, Wessex Water Operations Centre in Bath, Brighton Library and the Potterrow development at the University of Edinburgh. Recently completed commissions include the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Mint Hotels in London and Amsterdam.

Rab is a board member of the UK Green Building Council and a trustee of the Design Council. He was awarded the OBE for services to architecture in 2003.

Sue is an investment banker at Barclays Capital, where she currently specialises in advising and arranging finance for companies in the utilities and infrastructure sectors. Sue's life-long love of dance has brought her into contact with a number of Sadler's Wells Associate Artists in recent years and she is delighted to be joining the Board in 2011.

Marco Compagnoni is a partner in the leading international law firm, Weil Gotshal & Manges, based in the firm's London office. His work is in the area of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions.

Until recently, Marco was a Trustee of the Royal Opera House, Governor of the Royal Ballet Company and Chairman of the Friends of Covent Garden. He remains a member of the Friends of Covent Garden's Advisory Council. He is also currently a Trustee of the Serpentine Gallery and is involved in a range of public art and related programmes and initiatives. He is a founding supporter of Morphoses, the Christopher Wheeldon Company.

Joachim Fleury is a partner at Clifford Chance, the leading international law firm, at which he heads the global telecommunications, media and technology practice. He was born and raised in Amsterdam, where his mother designed and made theatre costumes, his sister makes performance theatre and his brother is a well-known maker of documentary films - sufficient basis for a life-long interest in performing arts.

Joachim has been living in London since 2001 and has been a regular promoter of beginning and established artists, through investment, sponsorship and advice. He sits on the development committees of several other theatres, as well as on the advisory council of several small companies.

Robert Glick is Vice President of Corporate Communications & Head of International Government Affairs at American Express Company.

He is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Company's government relations strategy for all business lines outside the U.S. In this role he represents American Express to senior policymakers, government officials and industry associations on numerous public policy issues affecting the Company and the financial services industry. In addition, he is responsible for managing the public affairs and employee communications strategy for American Express' operations in Europe.

Previously, Mr. Glick held positions as Regional Project Director at the United Nations Development Programme (New Delhi & New York), Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs at L'Oréal (Paris), and Senior Financial Analyst at Arthur Andersen & Company (New York).

Mr. Glick holds a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University, a Diploma in Government from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Emory University in the United States.

He first attended Sadler's Wells - a thrilling performance of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company - as student in the mid-1980s, and has been an avid fan of the theatre ever since.

Carol Lake has worked for J.P. Morgan for over 10 years and currently leads the firm's corporate responsibility agenda for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). This includes direct management of the firm's sponsorship activities, all philanthropic grant making as well as employee engagement and community relations activities. She has held a number of management positions working in the UK, Australia and Caribbean, with her involvement in philanthropy dating back to her time in the Caribbean, where she set up a charitable fund to respond to extensive hardships resulting from two major hurricanes.

In 2005 Carol served as a member of the UK Government's Expert Panel during the development of the Equality Review. In 2008, she served as a member of the Expert Group during the development of the Children's Plan. In 2009 Carol became a Fellow of the RSA.

Outside work, Carol is a passionate supporter of the arts and is a board member of The Young Vic Theatre and is Chair of Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Harry MacAuslan is the Vice Chairman of Leo Burnett, the international advertising agency. He is a Director of Octopus Investments, an investment company in the city and he is also a Director of Perfect Pizza, a national pizza delivery company. He is a Trustee of the Mental Health Foundation.

He is extremely proud to have been involved with Sadler's Wells for the past 14 years.

Robin has recently retired from BT as President of European Affairs. Robin joined BT as Group Communications Director in November 1999 from the Financial Times, where he was managing editor. He was BT's race champion and a member of the Group Equality and Diversity Forum. He is a former chair of the BT Ethnic Minority Network and is a member of Business in the Community's Race for Opportunity Board.

Robin is a Corporate Trustee of the Tate museums. He is also a member of the Board of Mezz2, a charity encouraging social entrepreneurship. He is a former Trustee of the National Aids Trust and is now an Ambassador for HIV/AIDS issues in the UK and internationally.

Sandi graduated with a degree in Music History from Skidmore College in New York. After graduating she focused her career on fundraising and development in America and worked for a number of arts organisations including The American Symphony Orchestra League, The Richmond Symphony Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Sandi's primary objective has been to combine her knowledge of classical music, opera and contemporary dance with her fundraising skills to benefit arts organisations.

Sandi joined the Board of Governors at Sadler's Wells in 2000 and was appointed a Director in 2007.

As Valerie Pitts, Lady Solti enjoyed a high-flying television career in the 1960's. Her work ranged from presenting Playschool to arts reporting for the BBC. In 1967 she married the legendary Hungarian conductor Sir Georg Solti, and gave up her career to support the maestro all around the world and to raise their two daughters.

Since her husband's death in 1997, Lady Solti continues his work in many areas and is particularly committed to the support of young musicians. Lady Solti was particularly supportive of the capital campaign which fundraised to rebuild and re-open Sadler's Wells in 1998.