Hay Festival Global appoints Jay Hunt as chair of trustees

Hay Festival Global has appointed Jay Hunt OBE as chair of trustees for a term of three years, beginning in January 2025. Hunt is the creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe and chair of the BFI. Before joining Apple, she was chief creative officer of Channel 4, responsible for Channel 4, E4, More 4 and the Film 4 channel. She has served on the board of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund and was the only person to have run three terrestrial broadcast channels, also serving as controller of BBC One and director of programmes at Channel 5.

Hunt leads a board comprised of nine trustees, including farmer, ceramicist and film producer Corisande Albert; international lawyer Victoria Bejarano; economist Nick Butler; Professor Dame Elan Closs Stephens; arts leader and digital specialist Tony Followell; tech investor Suhair Khan; historian, writer and broadcaster David Olusoga; business leader Ed Shedd; and digital content specialist Shakia Stewart.

Meanwhile, the current chair of Hay Festival Global—literary agent Caroline Michel–will move to the festival’s advisory council alongside other outgoing trustees: journalist Baroness Rosie Boycott, business leader Geraint Davies and lawyer Philippe Sands KC. Stephen Fry continues his role as Hay Festival Global president.

Hunt said: "I am utterly delighted to be joining the Hay Festival Global board at such an exciting time. For years it has been somewhere thoughtful people have come to discuss critical issues that impact us all, and this debate has never felt more necessary. I am passionate about the way stories connect us and can think of no better place to celebrate that than at Hay Festival. I look forward to working with a formidably talented board to help steer the organisation in the years ahead. I would also like to pay tribute to Caroline Michel for her exceptional leadership; she’s a very hard act to follow."

Michel said: "Hay Festival has always been the place I go to listen, learn, laugh, cry and wonder at the world anew. Already one of the world’s leading cultural events, in my decade as chair I have witnessed it transform further into a charity of impact. There have been thousands of fabulous events, millions of tickets sold, and young people engaged in our education and outreach work from Wales to Colombia, Nairobi to Ukraine. None of this would have been possible without our community of colleagues, writers, partners, funders and friends who use this great platform to talk, debate, collaborate, perform—to make a difference and to continue the quest to make the world a better place. I am thrilled that Jay Hunt will succeed me as chair—someone I admire enormously—and look forward to supporting her work in my role on the advisory council."

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said: “We are delighted to welcome Jay Hunt as chair of Hay Festival Global and look forward to three years of transformative work as our charity strives to meet the challenges of the future. Reaching audiences with accessible, inspiring platforms for cultural exchange requires innovation, collaboration and hope. We step into this new chapter with all three."

In 2025, Hay Festival will host events in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Nairobi, Ukraine, the US and the UK; with year-round pop-up events and platforms including the free monthly Book Club and After Hours events in cities; plus learning and engagement work offering free access to the festival.

Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2025 is scheduled to take place in Wales, from Thursday 22nd May to Sunday 1st June, with a selection of earlybird events released on Tuesday 3 December. Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2025 takes place in Hay-on-Wye, from Thursday 28th November to Sunday 1st December.