James Ainscough OBE became Chief Executive of the Royal Albert Hall in 2023, with a mission to diversify its artists and audiences, and to deliver a major regeneration of the building. Before that, he ran the charity Help Musicians for 5.5 years, during which they distributed a £20m financial hardship fund for freelance musicians during the pandemic, launched the musicians’ mentoring network Co-Pilot, and grew Music Minds Matter into a major mental health service for the entire music industry. He initially had a career in finance which led to his first stint at the Royal Albert Hall (2008-2017) where he started as the Finance Director, then became the Chief Operating Officer for three years.