IWM Trustees have elected Sir Guy Weston as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, effective 1 April 2024. 

Sir Guy has been a member of the Board at IWM since November 2019.  He succeeds Matthew Westerman, a Board member at IWM for nine years and chair since December 2019.

Sir Guy Weston is Chairman of the Garfield Weston Foundation and Wittington Investments Limited. He is Chairman of the Garfield Weston Trust for Westminster Abbey, a trustee of the Thrombosis Research Institute, and a member of the Council of Royal College of Music. He was formerly Chairman of the Westminster Abbey Development Appeal and the Bodleian Library Development Committee. He is currently Business Trustee at IWM and has Chaired the IWM Trading Company Ltd Board since March 2020.

Sir Guy said: “I’m honoured to have been elected by my fellow Trustees to Chair Imperial War Museums and look forward to building on the outstanding work of my predecessor, Matthew Westerman. I’m very fortunate to be elected Chair at an exciting time for Imperial War Museums, with compelling new exhibitions planned for IWM London and IWM North, the 80th anniversary of HMS Belfast’s role in D-day and bold new transformation plans at IWM Duxford. IWM’s five sites are jewels in the crown of UK heritage and I look forward to them continuing to make an essential contribution to our understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and conflict.”

Matthew Westerman said: “It has been a great privilege to serve as the Chair of Imperial War Museums. This has been another period of transformation for IWM, including the creation and building of the Second World War and Holocaust Galleries and the opening of the new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at IWM London and the creation of the IWM Institute. IWM is well known globally for its work, at no time more relevant than today, and I thank all our colleagues and volunteers for their extraordinary work in making this a reality. I am grateful to our many benefactors and partners for their support and thank DCMS and HMG for their consistent support, most notably through the COVID crisis and subsequent recovery.
I pay tribute to my fellow Trustees who have worked with me tirelessly during my time as Chair. I have worked with Sir Guy on the board for a number of years; I know he will be an outstanding Chairman and I wish him every success.”

The Chair is elected from the existing Board by fellow IWM Trustees in a process overseen by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Prime Minister has appointed Rachel Smith as Digital Trustee for a term of four years commencing 1 November 2023.

Rachel is UK & Middle East Managing Director at SQLI Digital Experience, a digital and commerce agency, part of SQLI Group; she advises on digital, customer experience and transformation strategies. Rachel has a breadth of digital and tech expertise across multiple sectors, with a record of delivering growth, decreasing operational costs, and improving financial bottom line. An expert at cross functional advisory, building effective teams and stakeholder engagement in multiple geographies, Rachel is known for her ability to combine multiple lenses (business, experience & tech) to drive solutions and growth. Prior to 2010, she has experience in the museums and cultural sector in digital, marketing, fundraising and communications. Rachel was an advisory board member of Youth Dance England (now One Dance UK).