The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames has appointed a new chief executive to succeed Paul Mainds who, after 14 years at the museum, will retire. Starting on 1 January 2014, the new chief executive is Ludo Keston (on the right), who will move from the Coventry Heritage and Arts Trust in Coventry. Keston, 54, who lives in Stratford-upon-Avon with his wife and their three children, is a former general manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has also worked for the York Theatre Royal and the New Vic Theatre in Staffordshire. He was educated at Maidenhead Grammar School and then studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In an interview for the Henley Standard, Ludo Keston said: “I am delighted to be joining the River & Rowing Museum. I look forward to working with the trustees and staff, inspiring a passion for Henley, the river and rowing, and maintaining the museum’s international reputation and attraction.”

In 2012, the River & Rowing Museum had 117,000 visitors and was named one of the top 50 museums in the world by the newspaper The Times.