A void had been filled at the top of one of Britain’s oldest professional organizations after the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the appointment of Valerie Vaughan-Dick as its new Chief Executive. 

The current head of the Royal College of General Practitioners comes to the position in the midst of substantial organizational changes that include the recent election of early-career architect Muyiwa Oki as its youngest-ever President.

Her predecessor, Alan Vallance, stepped down last April after leading RIBA through difficult economic straits and towards a “leaner, more focused and relevant” organization was run on an interim basis by Adrian Dobson and Pamela Harding.

Vaughan-Dick has a Ph.D. in management from the University of London and will bring what the organization called “extensive experience in the built environment” to the position owing to her prior experience at the NHS and London's Wandle Housing Association.

Her work at the Royal College of General Practitioners reportedly entailed some EDI work, which should serve her and the organization well as both look to hire a replacement for Director of Inclusion & Diversity Marsha Ramroop, who resigned in March after less than a year in her post. 

At the time, RIBA was facing an £8 million ($10.8 million) budget deficit that prompted the sale of its 76 Portland Place office in order to reduce overhead. Vaughan-Dick must now step into a situation that has not altered in terms of dollar figures in over three years, prompting a 7.5% increase in membership fees and several other likely changes she will be faced with once her tenure begins in January 2023. 

“I am delighted to be joining RIBA at such an exciting time in its development and to being part of the transition to an even more effective business, where sustainability is top of the agenda,” Vaughan-Dick said in a press release. “In this post-pandemic and financially challenging era, the industry needs an agile and dynamic membership body to provide leadership and support on the issues that matter most to the profession and the public. look forward to working with the board, council, and the expert staff team to help deliver RIBA’s ambitious plans and ensure that RIBA members are appropriately represented and their contributions widely recognised.” Vaughan-Dick is said to be the institute's first female and non-white chief executive.