Creative UK has appointed former diplomat Emily Cloke as its new Chief Executive.
Cloke was the UK’s Consul General in Los Angeles from 2020-2024, where she championed the UK’s creative industries.
Since 2024, Cloke has worked as a senior civil servant in the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade.
She was formerly Deputy CEO for the UK-Africa Investment Summit, and has held specialist senior roles in UK Government, across trade, business, and international sectors. Cloke has also served as a Senior Policy Adviser for UK Government Investments.
Cloke will take up the new post in early May 2026. The current CEO, Caroline Norbury, announced last year that she planned to leave. Norbury will depart at the end of March 2026. In the interim, Creative UK will be led by Managing Director, Laura Turner Laing.
Creative UK advocates for the creative industries at national and local government level, investing directly in creative businesses, and providing business growth support through regional programmes.
Catherine Mallyon, Chair of Creative UK, said: “I am thrilled that Emily will be leading Creative UK through its next exciting chapter. A strategic and collaborative leader, Emily’s expertise across the creative industries, diplomacy, policy, and trade mean she is ideally placed to further our goals of increased investment and support for an ever more diverse, sustainable, and thriving cultural and creative sector.
“Together we will work to extend the impact of Creative UK’s first five years – which saw us invest £31m into creative business, support over 5,200 creative SMEs, and represent 1,500 members.”
Cloke said: “The Creative Industries is a jewel in the UK’s crown – worth £125bn to the economy and underpinned by incredible talent. From advertising to architecture, fashion to film – the sector is a growth driver, which is prime for even more investment on the back of the Industrial Strategy. Creative UK’s convening power, networks and track record all lay a solid foundation for us to keep advocating for the growth of the sector – and I look forward to working with partners, Catherine, and the board, and the organisation’s talented team, to continue this important work.”
The UK government recently announced £380m in funding to support innovation, access to finance, R&D, skills, and regional growth across the UK as part of its Creative Industries Sector Plan. Discover more here.
.jpg)
IBC launches study to map the media technology talent pipeline
IBC has launched How Did You Get Here?, a study designed to better understand how people enter and build careers in media technology.
Netflix kicks of landmark distribution deal with France’s TF1
Leading French broadcaster TF1’s live channels and streamer TF1+ are now available on Netflix’s platform in France following a landmark distribution deal between the two companies.
UK government sets out plans to give prominence for PSB news on social media
The UK government has set out plans to make social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook give greater prominence to news from public service media.
Warner Bros. Discovery teams with AWS for agentic AI ad-tech
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has partnered with cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop its next-generation advertising experiences built with AWS agentic AI.
Active International picks Comcast Technology Solutions
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced that Active International, the global media and corporate trade group, is using Comcast AdFusion to modernise and scale its broadcast ad traffic and creative distribution operations.
