National Gallery Chair of Trustees John Booth said “The National Gallery is delighted to welcome Diana, Dounia and James to its Board. They bring considerable and wide experience of the arts, and of museum and charitable governance, in addition to the specialist knowledge for which they were recruited. James becomes Chair of our trading company National Gallery Global, in which role he will offer oversight to all our hospitality, retail and membership operations; and Diana and Dounia bring very considerable fundraising and development expertise as we embark on our bicentenary campaign, NG200, to widen access to the Gallery and its collection, and to enhance the welcome it offers to visitors.”

Dounia Nadar is a philanthropist with extensive experience in museums and other charitable organizations.  Until 2020, she was a Trustee of the Wallace Collection where she led fundraising for the International Council. Dounia was a founding member and is co-chair of the CaMMEA (Contemporary and Modern Middle Eastern Art) acquisitions group at the British Museum. She also sits on the governance board for (University of Texas) UT Foundation and is a trustee at the St. James’s Conservation Trust.

Diana Berry’s professional life has been spent almost entirely in the arts and in public affairs. She was a senior director at Sotheby’s and chairman of the Sotheby’s Institute. She has curated exhibitions with numerous museums and public bodies, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Regional Arts Associations, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Her experience of fundraising includes museums and educational charities – among others, she has been a trustee of the Holburne Museum in Bath, and development director and then trustee of the New Schools Network – and for medical and national causes. She has served as the first female Master of a London livery company, was a trustee of Policy Exchange, and is currently a trustee of the Attingham Trust for Historic Houses.

James Lambert OBE worked as an Old Master dealer at Colnaghi. He is a Founder shareholder and Deputy Chairman of Value Retail PLC, which developed and operates Bicester Village and ten sister Villages in Europe and China. James’s pro bono activities are focused on education and the arts. He is a founder Trustee of IntoUniversity, originally a local charity which successfully scaled into a national charity with 31 centres. James retired as Chair and Trustee in 2018 and is a member of the Advisory Panel. The charity currently supports 35,000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration.  He is a Trustee of Somerset House and an Honorary Fellow of the New College of the Humanities. 

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List in recognition of his services to social mobility in education.