Heritage · Arts · Media · Philanthropy · Leadership
Storyteller.
Creative leader.
Cultural changemaker.
Lucy Littlewood is a cultural leader, storyteller, public speaker and former international broadcaster — with a career built around one central idea: great stories have the power to change how people think, feel and act.
From presenting Premier League football to millions of viewers across Asia to transforming museums, raising more than £100 million for charitable causes and leading some of Britain’s best-known cultural organisations, Lucy’s career has spanned television, museums, heritage, philanthropy and the arts.
Now Director of the American Museum & Gardens in Bath, she is a lively and engaging speaker on storytelling, creative leadership, cultural transformation, museums and their future, philanthropy, audience engagement and the power of personality in organisations.
Her speaking style combines insight and experience with humour, candour and memorable stories from more than two decades working behind the scenes — and occasionally very much in front of the camera — in media, culture and the charitable sector.
£100m+
raised for charitable causes
6th
Director, and first British Director, of the American Museum & Gardens
£750,000
raised by a first-time gala at St Martin-in-the-Fields
20+
years leading media, museums and philanthropy
Selected work
Three strands of one career
01
Media & Storytelling
From local radio while still at school to anchoring ESPN’s SportsCentre across Asia as Head of Premiership — then behind the camera on ITV’s GMTV, Lorraine and This Morning, and writing and producing the first series of the BAFTA-winning Paul O’Grady Show.
02
Heritage, Museums & Cultural Change
The National Trust, the British Council, the Geffrye Museum’s transformation into the Museum of the Home, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Turner’s House Trust — arguing that museums’ next great opportunity is to give people the authority to tell their own stories.
03
Philanthropy, Audiences & Events
More than £100 million raised, with particular expertise in major gifts, partnerships and high-value events — from the Serpentine’s Summer Party to a first-time gala that raised over £750,000 on authenticity and imagination rather than glamour.
Speaking
Perspectives rarely found in one speaker
Broadcasting and storytelling; museums and heritage; fundraising and philanthropy; creative leadership; organisational change; sport; audiences; and the challenge of making established institutions matter to new generations.
01
The future of museums
From custodianship to collaboration, participation and shared authority
02
Storytelling that changes organisations
How a compelling story can transform audiences, income and ambition
03
Bringing personality back into heritage
Beyond dates and facts, to the complicated people behind our cultural icons
04
Creative leadership
Building ambitious, entrepreneurial organisations without losing purpose
05
Philanthropy with personality
Why authenticity and human connection beat formulaic fundraising
Contact
Invite Lucy to speak
Looking for a speaker who can combine serious cultural and leadership experience with great stories, energy and a sense of humour?
Available for keynotes, conference sessions, panel discussions, fireside conversations, event hosting, chairing and after-dinner speaking — in the UK and internationally.