John Sorrell is a UK trade ambassador for the Creative Industries and chair of governors at the University of the Arts London. Founder of one of Europe's most successful design businesses, Newell and Sorrell, he chaired the Design Council and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, originated the London Design Festival and set up the Sorrell Foundation, which works with young people to inspire their creativity. He is the author of Creative Island and Creative Island II . Paul Roberts is a member of the government's Cultural Education Board, of Arts Council England and a Commissioner for the University of Warwick Commission on the Future of Cultural Value. Formerly managing director of the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), he has advised the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), and is the author of the report Nurturing Creativity in Young People. He is a Fellow of the RSA. Darren Henley is managing director of Classic FM. The author of two major independent government reviews on music and cultural education, he has advised ministers in numerous departments.

The recipient of the Sir Charles Groves Prize for "his outstanding contribution to British music," he is the author of 27 books.