Meet the team

Fiona Bell

Chief Executive

Fiona leads the thrive team and is responsible for the overall strategy, direction, and culture of the organisation. With over 25 years of experience in the cultural sector, Fiona understands the needs of organisations at both a policy and operational level. She makes sure that thrive delivers on those needs and is passionate about driving audience-led change.

What are you currently working on?
In addition to going down a rabbit hole about how policy making works in NI, I’m also delighted to be doing some research for Luail, the new national dance company about audiences for dance on the Island.

Laura Cusick

Research Analyst

Laura is thrive’s lynchpin – she makes our research and insight stand out from the rest. She has over 12 years of quantitative research experience, crafting surveys and analysing data on people’s motivations, behaviours and attitudes. A data nerd at heart, Laura can take a large dataset and uncover the story behind the data, giving organisations useful insights and practical recommendations. Add to that her nine years with thrive and the fact that she has worked alongside many arts organisations makes our research programmes relevant and practical.

She is also the most productive person in the history of the world.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently digging into our data on ticket pricing in Northern Ireland, looking at how factors such as location, artform, and organisation size affect the data.

Maurane Ramon

Head of Client Development

Maurane heads up the Client Development side of thrive’s business which is about delivering specific contracts or projects for individual customers. Maurane is thrive’s own Swiss army knife. Because our customers range from volunteer-run festivals to local authorities, Maurane’s skillset is as varied as the work.

She is skilled in audience research, data analysis and has a strong background in marketing. But she’s also a crack project manager, clear communicator and all round delight. Whatever you need, Maurane can turn her hand to it with ease.

What are you currently working on?
I’m leading on a research project for Belfast City Council regarding Late Night Art, as well as creating a roadmap for Culture Night. I’m also carrying out evaluation work for both Black Box and Circus Explored. And lots more!

Eve Murtagh

Sector Programme Coordinator

Eve works in the Sector Development team which means she spends a lot of time talking about our research programmes. She will be the person who makes gathering IMPACT data as simple as possible, and will also be the person who helps you make sense of the numbers. Eve began her time with thrive as our box office specialist so she is also able to help you demystify ticketing data and get the most from your system.

As well as that, she is also a professional musician with over 10 years industry experience and helps us hone our research through an artist lens (check her music out here).

What are you currently working on?
I’m always working with participating IMPACT and IMPACT NW organisations to help them collect responses from their audiences. I’m also working on new pricing research we’re doing in the sector.

Suzanne McCoy

Finance Executive

Suzanne is thrive’s numbers whizz and is responsible for all things to do with operational finance. She issues client bills and makes sure all our reporting is accurate and on time.

Suzanne has a wealth of business experience gained from over 30 years experience in the Construction industry. When not working Suzanne is an avid rower on the River Lagan and an amateur ceramics enthusiast.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on thrive’s end of year reporting and VAT calculations!

Sarah Blake Knox

Client Programme Coordinator

Sarah has over ten years’ experience in television, starting as a TV runner and working her way up to Production Coordinator. She has worked in various genres of programs including drama, light entertainment, and documentaries.

She has worked across Ireland, the United Kingdom and North America. Her areas of interest are research and production management. She has also worked in other areas of the arts sector and has been involved with a number of respected museums and exhibitions in Ireland. She believes that teamwork gets the best result and particularly enjoys exploring and researching potential stories as well.

Dr Verity Peet

Head of Sector Development

Verity leads the Sector Development team and is focussed on developing and supporting the arts sector, particularly through engagement with the IMPACT research programme. With over 25 years’ industry experience straddling arts, heritage, media and tourism, including more than ten years transforming an old church into a thriving arts and heritage venue, Verity is well-equipped to understand the trials and tribulations facing the sector and to devise initiatives for its support and development.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently thinking about what how we ensure both the sector and individual organisations get the best use from the IMPACT data. And I’m getting out and about to meet everyone and find out their needs.