Introducing our new Chair of the Board of Trustees

Stuart Fletcher, interim Chair of The Hepworth Wakefield Trust, said: “On behalf of The Hepworth Wakefield Board, I am delighted to announce Steve Langan as our new Chair. Steve has an excellent and diverse breadth of executive leadership and chair experience in the corporate sector. This is combined with a strong personal interest in, and passion for, the arts and the transformative benefit that access to art and culture can have for individuals from all backgrounds. His skills and experience will be extremely valuable in helping The Hepworth Wakefield rebuild post-pandemic with a robust and innovative business plan that exploits new digital and commercial opportunities, while continuing to serve its local communities and bring world class art to Yorkshire.”

Born in Scotland, Steve graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in History and Economic History. Over the course of his career, he has held senior roles in some of the world’s best known companies, including Coca-Cola and Diageo, before spending the last 16 years as a CEO and Executive Committee member at Hiscox, one of the world’s leading specialist insurers. During this time, he lived and worked in Brazil, Ireland, Italy and the USA, and ran businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Steve’s association with contemporary art and architecture stretches back decades. He ran the original award-winning Becks Bier contemporary art sponsorship programme in the late 1980s and early 90s, was the design lead on the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, led the design and build of the striking Hiscox office in York, and since 2017 has been the Head of the Hiscox Art Collection, which is displayed in over 40 offices worldwide. In his time at Hiscox, Steve also developed contemporary art sponsorship programmes with the National Gallery, the Serpentine, the Whitechapel as well as with The Hepworth Wakefield.

About his appointment, Steve Langan, said: “I am delighted and excited to be taking over as the Chair of The Hepworth Wakefield.  The team have done a brilliant job over the past decade, but the reality is we are really only getting going. The transformative power of art has never been more important, and I look forward to keeping the internationally renowned Hepworth Wakefield at the forefront of this journey.”