Alan Davey was appointed Controller of BBC Radio 3 and Classical Music: Proms and Performing Groups. He took up the post in January 2015 and stepped down in March 2023. In addition to his main role, he was the sponsor for the move of the BBC’s music studios to Eastbank - the new cultural quarter in Stratford and was also the socio-economic diversity lead at the BBC.  

Awarded a CBE in February 2015 for services to the arts, he was formerly Chief Executive of Arts Council England where he served for seven years from November 2007. In that time the Arts Council expanded its reach to cover music education, museums, libraries and cultural property, and increased public audiences for culture by 10%. Prior to this he was Director for Culture at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from 2003, having previously worked in the department as Head of the Arts Division since 2001. In an earlier stint at the then Department of National Heritage he was responsible for designing the National Lottery.  

Alan has also worked at the Department of Health. He has been a visiting Fulbright/Helen Hamlyn Scholar at the University of Maryland, has degrees from the universities of Birmingham, Oxford and London, and honorary degrees from the universities of Birmingham and Teesside. In the past he has been a member of the Creative Industries Council, of the Council of the University of Birmingham and also chairman of IFACCA - the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies.  

As well as being a Trustee of the Hall for Cornwall, Alan also sits on the Board of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.