Anna Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham Royal Ballet. She is a white women with short brown hair. She is looking down and smiling. She wears red lipstick.
Changing Faces

Williams to leave Birmingham Royal Ballet

Arts Professional
2 min read

Birmingham Royal Ballet's Chief Operating Officer ANNA WILLIAMS is stepping down this summer after 29 years at the helm.

Following Williams’ resignation, the ballet decided to split the role of Chief Operating Officer into two.

CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ has been appointed to the first new post, Director of Finance and Resources. Currently Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director of One Dance UK, Rodriguez will take up his new role in June.

A second position, covering production, is yet to be filled.

Williams joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet as Finance Director, following a position at the Royal Opera House, where she worked on legally separating the royal ballet from the opera house to become an independent company and charity in 1997. 

She is also a Director of The Young Vic and was Vice-President of UK Theatre for six years until 2019. She was one of the founding directors of Culture Central, a collective voice and development agency for culture and the creative industries in Birmingham and the wider region.

"Looking back, it's nothing short of thrilling to see how far we've grown, and flourished into the thriving and distinctive company and charity of today," Williams said. 

"It feels like the time is now right for me to find a fresh challenge and new adventures. As I prepare to leave the company, I feel confident about its future, its ambitions, and its plans to bring ballet to ever bigger audiences in its home city, in the UK, and across the world. I wish you all well."
 
Birmingham Royal Ballet CEO CAROLINE MILLER said Williams’ "knowledge and experience of running a large-scale touring ballet company is unsurpassed".

"Anna is a formidable member of the leadership team at and was central to the successful survival of Birmingham Royal Ballet throughout the pandemic, finding solutions for protecting our staff’s pay and skilfully managing resources.

"I want to thank her professionally, but also personally, for everything she has done. She will be greatly missed."