Creative UK CEO Caroline Norbury awarded OBE

Caroline Norbury, Chief Executive of Creative UK, has been appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022.

Founder and Chief Executive of Creative England since its formation in 2011, Caroline took on the additional role of Chief Executive of the Creative Industries Federation in 2019 as both organisations joined forces, first under the Creative UK Group, and since 2021 as Creative UK.

Caroline’s position as a prominent champion of the Creative Industries has taken on renewed importance in recent years, with her leadership and advocacy playing a vital role in shaping the sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Caroline worked tirelessly, along with other leading industry voices, to warn of the potentially devastating impact of the pandemic on the Creative Industries. These calls for urgent and timely support for the sector led to unprecedented levels of government intervention to preserve UK culture and creativity across the country’s nations and regions.

Since 2021, Caroline has been instrumental in convening representatives from across the creative sector to tackle bullying and harassment in the workplace. This action, spearheaded by Creative UK and UK Time’s Up, has led to a consultation with the sector to establish an Independent Standards Authority to strengthen efforts to combat these issues and drive greater accountability across the sector.

“I am incredibly grateful to receive this honour, which recognises the efforts of so many of my colleagues to continually champion the UK’s world-leading Creative Industries,” said Caroline Norbury. “The past few years have been difficult for creative and cultural organisations, but I am optimistic that investing in the UK’s talent and creative ingenuity will build a fairer, more prosperous future for us all”.

“I am very pleased for Caroline on the announcement of this richly deserved honour,” added Rick Haythornthwaite, Chair, Creative UK. “In recent years Caroline’s inspirational leadership has seen her not only navigate the coming together of two important creative organisations into one, but also act as a formidable advocate for the creative community at large. Caroline is respected and renowned for her tenacious and effective efforts to ensure the opportunity for creativity to flourish is available to all. Her drive to unleash the potential of creative individuals and businesses everywhere shows no signs of abating and I look forward our continued work together to achieve this”.

In addition to her role as Chief Executive of Creative UK, Caroline sits on the Creative Industries Council and chairs its Investment for Growth sub-group. Caroline is a non-executive director of Crowdfunder, the UK’s largest rewards-based crowdfunding platform; a member of BAFTA and the Royal Society of Arts; a trustee for the PRS Foundation, a charity supporting new music and talent; and Chairwoman of The Music Works, a charity in Gloucestershire changing the lives of young people through music. Caroline was previously awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to the film industry.