Yana Peel

Early life

Peel was born in June 1974, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her parents emigrated from Soviet Union during the Cold War, in 1978. She grew up in Toronto, Canada, where her father worked as an engineer.

She attended McGill University in Montreal, and studied Russian literature and humanities, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a classmate there. Later she went on to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Career

Peel started her career at Goldman Sachs, where she worked primarily with Israeli tech companies.

Having co-founded the Outset Contemporary Art Fund in 2003 as a hub for creative funding solutions for cultural projects, Peel maintains advisory positions across the arts that include: Tate International Council, British Fashion Council, Lincoln Center, V&A, V-A-C Foundation Moscow, and Asia Art Archive. At Para/Site and Intelligence Squared, she serves as board co-chair.

In March 2015 Peel became a trustee of the Serpentine Galleries. She was recruited to the Serpentine board by it's chairman Michael Bloomberg. In July 2016 she was appointed CEO.

Personal life

She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a regular contributor to the Davos WEF Annual Meeting, particularly on topics at the intersection of technology and visual art. Her two children provide inspiration for her best-selling book series, Art for Baby, which benefits the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children NSPCC. In 2015, she was named by the South China Morning Post as one of "10 Outstanding Women for this Year" and selected by Debrett's as one of "Hong Kong’s 100 People of Greatest Influence".

She is married to Stephen Peel, a private equity financier. They have two children.