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CEO of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to step down

Image: Tim Cooke (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)

Tim Cooke will stand down from the role in November after almost seven years in the role

The CEO of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Tim Cooke, has announced that he will step down from the role later this year.

Cooke, who took up the role in 2018, will leave the Trust in November after serving almost seven years as CEO. A search is now on to appoint a new CEO for the Trust.

Cooke said: “It has been a huge honour to lead the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and to be part of its wonderfully purposeful endeavour as a museum exploring and sharing the Shakespearean heritage of Stratford upon Avon, alongside programmes which invite so many millions of people around the globe to encounter the amazing insights and lessons of Shakespeare’s work for how we live today as individuals and as a global community.

“I have been truly blessed to work with passionate and inspirational colleagues and I wish them and the Trust every success in the future.”

Cooke has formerly served as Head of Broadcasting for BBC Northern Ireland, was Director and Chief Exec of National Museums Northern Ireland, and has served as museum advisor in his own right.

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Chair, Lady Cobham, said the board were “enormously grateful to Tim for his leadership in what has been a significant period for us, especially when faced with the challenges of the pandemic.”

Earlier today it was announced that the Trust had received a £1m donation from playwright Ken Ludwig.

Playwright makes ‘unprecedented’ £1m donation to Shakespeare Birthplace Trust