Charlotte Dryden will take up the position later in the summer.
Charlotte has an impressive background in leadership, music programming, event management, working with not-for-profit organisations, fund raising and music media. Since 2008, she has worked at Oh Yeah, rising to the position of Creative Development Director. Aside from her many accomplishments in this role, she was the co-founder of Love Music Hate Racism Northern Ireland and initiated the ground-breaking Women’s Work festival that featured in a series of venues across Belfast in March 2016.
Shona McCarthy, Chair of Oh Yeah offers: “Huge congratulations to Charlotte on behalf of the Board of Oh Yeah. We are delighted to announce this appointment and know that Charlotte brings her own vision and style to build on the powerful legacy that has been created in Oh Yeah’s first decade as Belfast’s premier music hub. She brings outstanding experience and insight to the role and will contribute to the ongoing development of the music sector in Northern Ireland. We are immensely proud of the profound contribution that Oh Yeah has already made on the cultural landscape in NI under Stuart’s leadership and can now be very excited about the future too.”
Charlotte will replace Stuart Bailie, the outgoing CEO and co-founder of Oh Yeah, who has been in the position since 2008.
Charlotte Dryden says: “I’m over the moon and honoured to be stepping into the role of CEO. Stuart has been a huge presence and inspiration and while those are big shoes to fill, I am committed to ensuring that Oh Yeah continues to welcome, nurture, develop, incubate and celebrate music. I’m really looking forward to the future of the centre and continuing to work with the Board, staff, volunteers and of course the music community as a whole as we move into the next phase of development.”
Stuart Bailie says: “Charlotte is the heart and soul of Oh Yeah. Her credibility is solid and her work rate is astonishing. Countless lives have been improved by music because of her work in the fields of outreach and talent development. The Oh Yeah vision will continue to thrive under Charlotte’s guidance and we’re all looking forward to the tenth birthday celebrations in 2017.”
