Meet our Senior Team

Jon Gilchrist

Artistic Director & Chief Executive

Jon was recently elected Joint President of UK Theatre  and is also on the boards of the Edge Theatre in Manchester and HighTide Theatre in Suffolk.Previously Jon worked as Executive Director of the Bush Theatre between 2014 and 2018. In this time he led on their major capital redevelopment, and helped expand the organisation’s reach as a centre of excellence for diverse emerging talent. Before this he worked in marketing roles at theatres across the North-West for ten years, including The Lowry in Salford, the Octagon Theatre Bolton, and the Dukes in Lancaster.

Graham Callister

Director of Festivals

Graham is Director of Festivals at Birmingham Hippodrome, leading on all of our in-house produced festival work that includes B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival, Summer in Southside, Bullring Cultural Programme and Chinese New Year. Graham has been the Executive Producer and Festival Director for the bi-annual Birmingham Weekender and was Creative Producer for the 2018 Commonwealth Games Handover Ceremony.Prior to joining the Hippodrome, Graham worked in Local Government and management consultancy settings.  Graham is also a serving Board Member for Sense, Culture Central and Southside BID, and co-chairs the Birmingham Festivals Group.

Chilina Madon

Director of Audiences & Communications

Chilina has worked in arts marketing for 20 years, joining Birmingham Hippodrome in 2007. In the last two years she has taken on the role of Director of Audiences & Communications, overseeing the brand, audience and sales strategies for the organisation; she is also Co-Chair of the venue’s Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group.Chilina is a Trustee at Oxford Playhouse where she Chairs the Equality, Diversity and HR Committee and enjoys the opportunity to tread the boards with her local amateur operatic society whenever she gets the chance between work and raising two magnificent children.

Tim Maycock

Finance Director

Tim is the Finance and Planning Director and Company Secretary, looking after the Finance, HR and Executive Office teams and responsible for managing our financial performance, all regulatory reporting and overseeing our risk management processes.Prior to joining Birmingham Hippodrome in 2017, Tim worked for a large single-family office and in the consumer goods sector after qualifying as a chartered accountant with PwC. Tim is also a serving board member for the WMCA Cultural Leadership Board and Southside BID.

Chris Sudworth

Director of Artistic Programme

Chris joined Birmingham Hippodrome in 2017. He leads on programming for both our stages, our produced work, Hippodrome Associates and artist development activity; and oversees accessible performances, Learning & Participation.Previously, Chris was Executive Director of The Old Rep, and the first Creative Director of The Core at Corby Cube: opening and establishing a venue with young people and communities at its heart, developing new work and partnerships nationally and internationally.Prior to that, he was a freelance director and producer and led a national young people’s leadership programme for Arts Council England. Chris is a Board Member of Wriggle Dance Theatre, an informal adviser to Beatfreeks, and a member of the More Than a Moment  working group, championing a more equitable arts and culture sector in the West Midlands and beyond.

Mike Bradford

Director of Operations

Mike Bradford is Director of Operations at Birmingham Hippodrome. With a background in electrical engineering, Mike has had over twenty years of working and developing within the theatrical and entertainment industry. Mike currently has responsibility for I.T., Technical Production, Facilities, Visitor Services, Health and Safety and Capital Projects, alongside his consultancy work for other venues.Mike is extremely passionate about ongoing innovative development within his teams and is continually striving to be leading within the industry. In particular, he has a passion for bringing technology and its advancements to the forefront of everyday use.Prior to joining Birmingham Hippodrome in 2001, Mike was Technical Manager within the Tussauds Group working in the entertainment areas across a number of theme parks within the UK.

Ruth Power

Director of People & Culture

Ruth is a Human Resources specialist with over a decade of experience working across charities and education covering all aspects of the people profession. Ruth has joined us from KEMP Hospice where she was part of the Senior Leadership Team, working alongside the Board of Trustees to create and deliver the People Strategy. Ruth holds strong values in equity and is a firm believer that people are what make an organisation and are a company’s most important asset. In 2021 Ruth became a Co-opted Governor at a primary school in Stourbridge. Ruth has been an avid theatre goer from a very young age and is excited to be part of such an iconic establishment in Birmingham.