Patrons and Governing Body

Christopher Prentice - Chairman

Christopher worked for 39 years in the UK Foreign Service, before retiring in 2016. His final posting was as Ambassador to Italy for five years. He has been married to Nina since 1978. They have four children and a growing number of grandchildren. Their main home is in Oxfordshire but they also enjoy regular visits to a family home of Nina’s in the Val d’Aosta.

Beatrice Bargagli Stoffi - Deputy Chair

Beartrice works for the Leeu Collection as Office Manager of Leeu Villa Querce. She was previously on the management board for the Mayor’s Office – International and Ceremonial relations – of the Municipality of Florence and she was Head Secretary for the Management Board for Tourism Agency of Florence and Head Secretary to the Minister of Culture and Tourism for the Province of Florence. She founded the Associazione Atelier degli Artigianelli, a cultural association that offers training courses in traditional artisanal crafts and she is the co-founder of the Associazione Amici della Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze.

Tessa Capponi

Tessa is a historian, born and brought up in Florence. She moved to Poland in 1983 and lectured at the University of Warsaw until 2014. Author of books and articles on the history and culture of food. Since 2013 she is the president of the Fondazione per la Tutela del Territorio del Chianti Classico and since 2010 the president of the Centro Studi Famiglia Capponi.

Helen Farrell

Helen Farrell is editor-in-chief of The Florentine, a position she has held since 2013. 

Shalina Ganatra

Shalina Ganatra is a digital strategy and transformation expert with over 25 years’ experience helping global businesses navigate ecommerce and customer-focused innovation. A frequent visitor to Italy, Shalina is deeply inspired by Florence’s rich heritage and history and is currently studying Italian to deepen her connection with the country’s language and culture.

James Stewart - Treasurer

James has spent a thirty year career at Schroders, the London-based investment firm, as both an investment and business manager. His first career was in the British Army.  He is an Associate of the CFA Society of the UK and has a Degree in Geography from Durham University.

Luke Syson 

Luke is the fourteenth Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum. From 2012-19, he was Chairman of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where he led on the complete refurbishment of the British Galleries, a $22m project, which opened in March 2020. Luke has held curatorial positions at the British Museum, V&A and the National Gallery – where he led the successful campaign to acquire Raphael’s Madonna of the Pinks for the nation and curated the highly-acclaimed exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci – Painter at the Court of Milan in 2011.

Mary Ellen Stumpf

Mary Ellen Stumpf has been a non-profit professional and consultant in management, planning, and fund development, including earned, contributed, and endowed revenue. She has served a wide range of organisations—cultural, academic, preservation, environmental, and human services—as well as philanthropic sources, corporate partners, and private foundations. She directed the National Campaign for Historic Jamestowne, the first English settlement in America, transforming the site into a world heritage destination and hosting the late Queen Elizabeth II for its 400th commemoration in 2007. She holds a master’s degree in Elizabethan Studies from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree in Humanistic Studies and Literature from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. She has served on the board and faculty of the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy and on various other boards.

Brian Young

Brian Young graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a bachelor’s degree in Historical Studies. He subsequently gained a postgraduate qualification in teaching English as a foreign language and worked in several countries in Europe before starting his career with the British Council as an English teacher in Venezuela. He took on further teaching roles with the British Council in Portugal, Thailand and Colombia before studying further postgraduate qualifications in marketing and management. A subsequent move to Barcelona, Spain saw him take on a senior role at the Young Learner teaching centre Spain before moving to Saudi Arabia, where he was Deputy Country Exams Manager based in Al Khobar. More recently he has completed postings as Country Director in Rwanda and Mexico before moving to his current role as Country Director Italy.

Alessandra Petrucci - Rector, University of Florence