Beamish Museum’s Chief Executive Recognised in Prestigious North East Business Titans List

Having joined the museum as a volunteer in 1995, aged 25, Rhiannon’s creative drive and tenacity saw her hold a number of roles within the museum before becoming Chief Executive in 2021. She has extensive curatorial, commercial, operational and development expertise, combined with a great passion for museums, heritage and the North East.

Working with national and international museum colleagues, Rhiannon is at the forefront of leading open air and independent museum practice, focused on sharing ideas, knowledge and supporting talent and progression across the sector.

Rhiannon is leading the museum into its new strategy, using the founding principles to preserve the North East’s social, industrial and agricultural heritage, achieved through an immersive, living museum experience which puts visitors first and champions active participation from local communities. Beamish was named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, the world’s largest museum prize.

The programme attracted more than 200 nominations across five award categories: SME Powerhouse, Mid-Market Maestros, Legacy Builders, Business Breakthroughs, and Innovation Trailblazers. During the judging process, the panel also introduced an additional category, The New Icons, to recognise emerging leaders already making a significant mark on the North East’s business landscape.

The expert judging panel comprised senior business leaders from a wide range of industries, including Geoff Thompson, Chairman of South Shields FC and Energy Solicitors and founder of Utilitywise; Eileen Ferguson, Co-Founder of Ad Gefrin; Andrew Dawson, Managing Director of CASTLE; Ian Robinson, CEO of Satcom Global; Nicki Clarke OBE, CEO and Co-Founder of UMi; Jag Singh Rai, Director and Head of Corporate Banking – North East at Barclays; Alok Loomba, Partner and Head of Real Estate at Sintons LLP; Lesley Fairclough, Partner and Head of the Commercial Property Department at Ward Hadaway; Richard Hogg, Founder and CEO of Jackson Hogg; Rachel Wilson, Owner of Jobsons of Alnwick; Tom Shanks, Finance Director of Blueline Group; and Cassie Moyse, Group Marketing Director at Bradley Hall and Co-Founder of Portfolio North.