Claire Lois Whitaker was the director of the music production company Serious. Whitaker was the bid director for the Southampton City of Culture for 2025. She is currently Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society and a trustee of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to jazz. In July 2020 she was announced as one of the independent member of the Culture Recovery Board, which administers the Culture Recovery Fund as part of the UK response to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

. Whitaker was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to the arts and culture.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Trustees of charities {{UK-bio-stub