Caroline, Chair
“Upswing’s work provokes, inspires and invites us all to deconstruct the world as we know it – and build it back with a vision that is different, dynamic and inclusive. Upswing are a remarkable company, with a remarkable founder and a remarkable team. It is a huge honour to be joining Upswing as Chair.”
Caroline Meaby is a cultural and creative industries consultant and professional development coach. She has 25 years experience working in the creative industries, having started her career as an entertainment news journalist before ten years as a producer at BBC Children’s, with credits including ‘Blue Peter’, and the London 2012 news trainee scheme ‘Step Up’. She left the BBC to become Talent Schemes Director at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, where she worked with major broadcasters and production companies on a suite of training and development offers to promote a more inclusive TV industry.
Caroline spent nearly a decade working in a number of management roles at British Council Arts. Highlights include leading the global Creative Economy work, and, as Director Arts Wider Europe, bringing exhibitions from Grayson Perry and Brian Eno to new audiences in the Western Balkans. Most recently, Caroline was Director, Arts Network at the British Council, overseeing the work of 300 specialist arts and creative industry colleagues around the world, delivering on a diverse portfolio of projects in visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, design and fashion. She also led the British Council Arts External Relations team, and co-chaired the Creative Europe Desk UK Partnership Board alongside the BFI.
Caroline holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology from Birkbeck, University of London, and is currently completing a PGDip in Coaching at Oxford Brookes University.
Caroline was born and bred in East London and is of white British, Indian and Malawian heritage.