Governance & organisation

James Williams has been Director of the Royal College of Music since September 2024. Prior to this, James spent eight years as Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) during which time he appointed Vasily Petrenko as Music Director, secured Associate Orchestra status for the RPO at the Royal Albert Hall and developed the RPO’s international profile that included major tours to the USA, Europe and Asia.

In May 2023, James was invited by His Majesty King Charles III to oversee the music for the Coronation Service of Their Majesties The King and Queen held at Westminster Abbey. James has also worked for the Philharmonia Orchestra building long-standing partnerships with artists such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Maazel, Lang Lang and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Music education and developing the careers of young musicians has always played a central role in James’ career which has included positions at the Royal Northern College of Music, Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now scheme and as a Trustee of the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust.

Kevin Porter is Deputy Director of the Royal College of Music, where he has worked since 1994, leading the administration of the College, with a particular focus on international initiatives, governance and strategy.

His early career was in quality assurance, first at the University of East London and then for the Council for National Academic Awards. He then moved to London Guildhall University where he worked in governance and academic policy, as well as Quality Assurance. Kevin was a Specialist Assessor for the Association of University Administrators, Chairman of the Conservatoires UK Academic Administration Committee and he also chaired the CUK initiative to develop a new admissions service, UCAS Conservatoires.

He is currently a member of the Royal Albert Hall Council and he chaired the Board of KCG internal audit consortium until 2022, among an involvement in a range of HE sector organisations. His article ‘Management in the Conservatoire of the Future: administering or leading?’ was published in journal Studies in Higher Education in 1998 and, with Jeffrey Weeks OBE, he co-edited the oral history ‘Between the acts : lives of homosexual men, 1885-1967’.

Aida joined the Royal College of Music in January 2017 and brings a wealth of experience advising high-profile complex organisations on business-focused strategic estate planning and delivery of high-quality customer-focused facilities and services.

As a leader in corporate real estate, she has worked within established consultancy practices and client-side organisations, managing estates, operations and design of a diverse range of complex projects in the UK and overseas.

Aida is a former British Airports Authority (BAA) portfolio leader. As a part of a four billion pound capital transformation programme she led the BAA Capital transformation team, setting strategic vision and delivering a range of capital projects and services for Heathrow‘s Western and Eastern Campus. Her other achievements include successful implementation of innovative evidence-based strategies that improved space utilisation, increased retail revenue and enhanced customer experience for the BAA departure lounges of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton.

In her early career, Aida held positions with Miller, Gensler and Fitzroy Robinson, where she was responsible for a number of high-profile projects, leveraging construction and design to help her clients achieve their strategic goals. She successfully led multidisciplinary teams of architects, engineers and branding specialists to foster design excellence and advise a range of clients including Canary Wharf Group, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Clifford Chance and Polo Ralph Lauren. Aida’s in-depth understanding of design and its role within the building development process, combined with her collaborative team approach, made her highly sought after by colleagues and clients.

Aida is a Chartered Architect and holds a Master of Arts from Central Saint Martins - University of the Arts London.

Lily Harriss has an impressive track record in fund raising and high performance team development.

The wealth of experience and history of accomplishments that Lily brings to the role include the establishment and leadership of the Development and Communications Team for Picture our Future: The Campaign for Dulwich Picture Gallery. During the campaign, which had a total goal of £20 million, Lily personally managed the completion of over £18.5 million in gifts and pledges.

Her other achievements at Dulwich Picture Gallery include the overseeing of multi-million pound gift agreements (including a pacesetting £13 million family contribution and a £6 million corporate bank strategy), leading strategic planning exercises, writing business cases, and aligning funding practices with strategic goals. Lily has also trained staff in a variety of fundraising and management practices with a focus on good business practice.

Lily’s most recent roles have included Director of Development at English Heritage (Interim), Director of University Fundraising at King’s College London and King’s Health Partners, and Strategic Counsel for LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre).

Originally from Canada, Lily was previously Director of Development, Corporations and Foundations at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario), accountable for more than $11 million in receipted gifts in one year. She managed the restructuring and building of her Development team and is credited with establishing a corporate and foundation partnership programme with the various units across campus. She also worked on two major campaigns at Queen’s University and was the author of a comprehensive End of Campaign Report. During her tenure, Queen’s endowment grew to become one of the largest post-secondary funds in Canada.

In her early career, Lily worked as a fundraising and communications professional at various organisations including the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, the Edmonton Symphony, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. She began her career in volunteer management.

Talia Hull has joined the RCM as Director of Communications and brings a wealth of experience advising high-profile, complex organisations, specialising in strategic communications, issues management and brand repositioning. She has led successful external campaigns for the BBC, Warner Music and National Magazines (now Hearst).

She was previously Communications Director for littledesk pr advising a range of clients including the Incorporated Society of Musicians, The Space (a digital arts platform from Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Talia is a former Head of Communications for BBC Radio 3 & Classical Music TV and spent a number of years managing the public profile of Warner Classics’ four international record labels – Erato, Teldec, Nonesuch and Finlandia.

Rachel Harris joined the RCM as Director of Finance in November 2019 after seven years in the Higher Education sector at the University of Surrey, most recently as Director of Research & Strategic Finance. She also brings a wealth of experience from the commercial sector, having worked at the international telecommunications company O2 for twelve years in a broad variety of Senior Finance roles including Commercial Controller, Group Head of Analysis, Group Chief Accountant and Group Financial Controller. In her early career she worked in the audit and business advisory practice at Arthur Andersen, then at Universal Music and Thorn EMI.

Rachel read Mathematics and Management Studies at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.