There’s nothing like a Dame

The 2020 Alumna of the Year Award for Exceptional Contribution goes to Dame Rosemary Squire OBE

Dame Rosemary Squire OBE has been presented with the GDST’s prestigious Exceptional Contribution Award by Julie Keller, Head of Nottingham Girls’ High School, in recognition of the truly outstanding support she has given to NGHS and the GDST in general, as well as her wider philanthropic work across the arts sector.

Accepting her award, Dame Rosemary said, “This is a wonderful thing to receive – thank you – much appreciated. I am truly honoured, and I am especially pleased that you are awarding this to me here on the stage back in Nottingham, in Arboretum Street, where it all began all those years ago.”

Dame Rosemary Squire is one of the most prominent women in British theatre, having co-founded the Ambassador Theatre Group in 1992, which has gone on to become the world’s leading live-theatre company with venues across Britain, the US and Australia. Recently, Rosemary and her business partner have founded and now run Trafalgar Entertainment Group –  a live entertainment business that owns and operates distinctive cultural buildings, as well as creating, distributing and live-streaming innovative content.

She is a National Member of the Arts Council England Board, Chair of South West Area Council, and together her husband/business partner, Sir Howard Panter, has topped The Stage 100 for seven consecutive, record-breaking years. She was also the first ever woman to win the prestigious EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year (2014).

Dame Rosemary was awarded a DBE (Damehood) in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List for services to theatre and philanthropy. Her philosophy of giving back to the next generation runs through all she does, with her active charity and fundraising work and her inspirational message to young entrepreneurs that they can succeed in the arts.