Changing Faces

Design Museum names new deputy director amid senior appointments

Arts Professional
2 min read

The Design Museum has announced that JOSEPHINE CHANTER will take up the role of deputy director amid several senior appointments.

The museum’s director of audiences for the past seven years, Chanter’s new post, has been unoccupied for around eight years. The museum said the re-established position would “drive innovation, accessibility and ongoing strategic change”, overseeing departments including exhibitions, communications and learning, as well as the organisation’s international activity.

Chanter began her career in public affairs, initially joining the Design Museum as head of communications in 2008. In 2021, she co-founded Future Observatory, the museum’s national research programme that supports a green transition through design-led innovation. She is also a Bloomberg Tech Fellow.

Also joining the museum next month is LYCIA LOBO, its new chief operating officer, while LIYUN YE recently took up post as chief finance officer.

Currently, the commercial director at English Heritage Lobo has previously held leadership positions at organisations including Ashmolean Museum, V&A, Signet Jewelers and Thorntons.

She is a trustee at Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, a non-executive director for Charles Dickens Museum Trading Limited and chairs the trading board at Queer Britain Museum.

A qualified chartered accountant, Ye has worked with several contemporary art charities and global corporations. She was Met Media’s finance director and a trustee of the Rambert Dance Company.

TIM MARLOW, director and chief executive of the Design Museum, said, “Following on from one of the Design Museum’s most successful ever years, I am delighted to welcome Lycia and Liyun to the team. Their wealth and range of experience will help us go on to even greater things in 2025 and beyond.

“I am also delighted to appoint Josephine Chanter as the museum’s new deputy director. She has been a vital part of establishing our Kensington home since the move in 2016, and in her new role, I know she will continue to show the energy and vision she brings to her work, helping ensure the museum continues to evolve.