Ray Jones, CEO

Ray Jones is often described by colleagues and friends as “Mr London”. He is a passionate advocate for live music and theatre which can be clearly seen by his career to date.

First as Head Concierge in several top London hotels before founding Centre Stage.

In 1997 he sold the business and joined the Board at Superbreak - The UK’s leading short break operators. Once again breaking new ground, the company took cultural tourism to new levels, offering transport, ticketing, accommodation and attractions in one simple transaction.

During this period Ray served as Non Executive Director at Visit London and as Executive Director of West End Theatre Bookings, a rapidly-growing theatre ticket agency acquired by Superbreak in 2007 and sold to Encore in June 2011.

In 2012 Superbreak was sold to the travel giant Cox and Kings and Ray stepped down to join Time Out as Global Business Development Director.

As well as overseeing commercial relationships Ray developed Time Out Live and launched The Time Out Card, both offering on-brand live experiences to readers and members. This included the hugely popular Rising Stars series discovering and presenting the best in unsigned talent at iconic London venues.

Ray stepped down from his role at Time Out in August 2017 to become founding director and CEO at Talentbanq.

He also sits on the Board at The Union Chapel – one of the coolest live music venues on the planet.

Paul (Pablo) Ettinger, Chairman

Pablo is one of the founding team behind Caffè Nero and now manages their music department best known for discovering emerging musicians through in store play across their 800+ stores across eleven countries, putting on about 300 gigs in Caffe Nero’s across the UK every year and sponsorship of major music competitions and festivals.

Pablo organises and hosts Caffè Nero’s showcase music nights and curates their stages at major UK festivals, catapulting the careers of the likes of Jack Savoretti and Passenger as well as helping many other musicians build their professional career. Much of the music heard in Caffe Nero is by unsigned artists.

He is an entrepreneur who helps create and develops businesses to become highly successful brands and sits on the board of a number of them. Pablo is also a songwriter and has been playing jazz piano since a very early age.

Lord Mervyn Davies

Lord Davies has a wide range of interests, including being Chairman of the Royal Academy of Arts Trustees and a Board member of Glyndebourne.

Lord Davies is a Partner and the Chairman of Corsair Capital, a private equity firm specialising in financial services. He is also the Chairman of LetterOne, an Adviser to Teneo and the Chairman of UK India Business Council.

Prior to that, he was Chairman and previously CEO, and served on the Board of Standard Chartered for over 12 years.

He was Minister for Trade, Investment, Small Business and Infrastructure from January 2009 until May 2010.

He was awarded a CBE for his services to the financial sector and the community in Hong Kong in June 2002 where he served as a member of the HK Exchange fund for seven years. Lord Davies is also a JP in Hong Kong.

James Gamble, Managing Director

James is a Music Business graduate of Tileyard Education, the postgraduate education centre based on the same site as TALENTBANQ. James is experienced in organising and running live music events having managed a weekly student club night while studying for his undergraduate degree at the University of Exeter. Before joining TALENTBANQ he was stage managing small live music events at various venues across London.

Before switching to the music industry James worked in television production, including working on shows such as Grand Designs, Taskmaster and Great British Railway Journeys. James is also a classical and jazz pianist, and enjoys reading, travelling and Indian food!

Sassy Hammersley, Artist Liaison & Concert Promoter

Sassy is a Songwriting graduate of ICMP. She has been performing and writing from a very young age. Sassy developed an interest in live music and events as a result of her experiences.

She is passionate about ensuring the fair treatment of artists and creating a positive and memorable experience for artists and audiences alike.

Whilst working at TALENTBANQ Sassy will continue to perform solo artist and as part of indie folk trio ‘Saint Boy’.

In fact it was a performance with Saint Boy at The Camden Chapel that brought Sassy and TALENTBANQ together.

Now that's what we call an Encore!

Madara Ieva Tumovica, Marketing Manager

Madara is a recent Music Business graduate from Tileyard Education. During her time at Tileyard, she was part of the team that, in collaboration with TALENTBANQ, organised the Tileyard Takeover at Camden Chapel. She was also actively involved with the B23 Collective, contributing to marketing efforts and event organisation while working closely with a small team.

Additionally, Madara took the lead in organising the end-of-year showcase at Metronome in late September. Madara's journey in the music industry began with her passion for music as an artist.

Outside of her professional life, she loves travelling, photography, and attending concerts and cultural events. She also enjoys participating in songwriting camps and sessions to keep her creative spark alive.