HQ Theatres is one of the UK’s largest regional theatre and concert hall operators.  The company is renowned for its unique specialism in combining theatre-operations, first-class hospitality provision and vibrant and diverse entertainment programmes.

Say Hello to the Group Leadership Team from HQ Theatres!

GROUP LEADERSHIP TEAM


JULIAN RUSSELL
CEO
Julian is a highly experienced CEO with extensive experience in the UK and internationally. Prior to joining HQ Theatres in 2010 Julian worked with Forte Hotels, Grand Metropolitan, Pelican Group and Compass where he became Group General Manager of five internationally renowned stadiums: Wembley, Twickenham, Highbury, White Hart Lane and Loftus Road.  He worked as GM at Lloyds of London and as Operations Manager of over 20 Blue Chip clients across the City of London for Elior before moving to Australia where he took on the role of Senior Operations Manager for Spotless.   


ALVIN HARGREAVES
Chief Operating Officer
Alvin provides support and direction to develop growth strategies, drive business performance and ensure sustainable operational effectiveness of the HQ venues. Previously, Alvin was the Director of G Live, Guildford’s new arts and conference venue. Prior to G Live he was General Manager for Theatre Royal (Plymouth) Ltd and was the inaugural Chairman of Plymouth’s Waterfront Partnership. He was Programming & Marketing Director at Plymouth Pavilions, before which he held various managerial positions at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall and the Alban Arena.


CHRIS MCGUIGAN
Group Director of Marketing & Sales
Chris has more than 20 years’ experience in the theatre and live entertainment sector. Prior to joining HQ Theatres, where he oversees the strategic direction of the marketing and sales functions he worked for the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) for 12 years in a Divisional Marketing role across eight regional theatres. He also played a key role in new venue acquisition, production launches and international integration for the company.  Prior to ATG Chris worked for the NEC Group at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and for Warwick District Council at The Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa. 


KIM CHALKLEY
Head of Commercial and Finance
Kim is an FCCA finance professional with more than 25 years’ experience in the entertainment sector. She began her career at the advertising agency Kingsland Lloyd Peterson before moving to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group where she headed up the Record Royalties team before progressing into roles within the Theatre Production and Theatre Ownership departments.  Kim later moved to Universal Music Group heading up the Central Finance Department for more than 10 years before joining HQ Theatres in 2016.


MARK HOLLINGTON
Hospitality Director
Mark is a hospitality professional with extensive experience in events, restaurants and venue operations. At HQ he takes responsibility for the strategic direction and coordination of the Hospitality operation, devising, developing and overseeing key projects to support venues and to improve the hospitality offer with a focus on commercial performance.  Prior to HQ, Mark worked across a number of branded restaurant businesses including Beefeater and Pizza Express.


CAROLINE HATLEY
HR Manager
Caroline is a CIPD accredited HR practitioner expert in linking great people management into successful business strategy.  She has over 30 years’ experience in entertainment, hospitality and education in both the public and private sector including running her own restaurant business. At HQ Theatres she delivers a range of HR training workshops to complement other training provision, bringing line managers together to share their common purpose and experiences.

For more information, please visit the HQ Theatres website https://hqtheatres.com/