The Piece Hall Trust
The Piece Hall Trust is responsible for the operation of the The Piece Hall, the historic building where trade, culture, heritage and community mix.
As a charity, The Piece Hall Trust exists to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment by preserving The Piece Hall, and by advancing the public’s engagement in and understanding of history, the arts and cultural activities.
Nicola Chance-Thompson MBE DL FRSA is a Trustee and the Trust’s Chief Executive.
Orphy Robinson MBE is the Chair. The other Trustees are Illy Jaffar (Vice Chair), Jaxs Palmer (Vice Chair), Noor Ali, Syima Aslam MBE, Cllr Howard Blagbrough, and Cllr Tim Swift MBE, Bryony Bond, Diane Lawrence and Jo Thornton.
Trustees are directors of The Piece Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales, number 08906735. The Trust is a registered charity number 1156948. The Trust’s commercial trading activities are through Piece Hall Enterprises Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Piece Hall Trust. Registered in England and Wales, number 9761837.
As a charity registered under number 1156948 and a private company limited by guarantee, the Trust is not a public authority and has no legal obligation to deal with requests to it made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”) or to publish information under FOIA.
Senior Leadership Team
Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE DL FRSA
Chief Executive
Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE DL FRSA
Chief Executive
Nicky has been CEO since 2017 helping to establish The Piece Hall as an internationally-recognised destination and making a significant contribution to Calderdale’s regeneration.
Prior to this she had a multi-award-winning career in marketing, advertising and media and delivered Government programmes, specialising in regeneration.
In recognition of her services to culture, heritage and regeneration in Calderdale and the wider region Nicky was honoured with an MBE in 2023, she is a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and has previously been crowned Yorkshire Businesswoman of the Year, and received an IOD Judges Special Prize.
Aaron Casserly Stewart
Programme & Event Director
Aaron Casserly Stewart
Programme & Event Director
Aaron is a senior executive with 30 years experience in the music industry. He is a jazz vocalist & former singer with the three-time Grammy Award winning group The Sounds of Blackness. He is the former personal assistant to Morris Hayes (Prince’s music director/keyboardist & band leader of The New Power Generation).
Winner of a 2012 NAACP Image Award, Aaron is the Chair of Jazz North; Chair of Happy Valley Pride; Trustee at Gilbert Baker Foundation; former Vice-Chair of Leeds Conservatoire; former trustee at Manchester Jazz Festival; former Non-Executive Director at Come Play With Me & former trustee at Showroom Cinema.
He is also a Juror for SXSW London 2026; PRS Foundation Advisor; Launchpad Advisor, an Ambassador for Yorkshire Cancer Research & former City Commissioner/Mayor of Parsons, Kansas.
Currently he works as the Programme & Event Director at The Piece Hall in Halifax, England & has been the business manager for Erik “Blu2th” Griggs; producer at Dr Dre’s Aftermath record label based in Los Angeles the past 12 years.
Claire Bradshaw
Chief Operating Officer
Claire Bradshaw
Chief Operating Officer
Claire is a highly experienced operations director with more than 22 years of senior leadership in the UK hospitality sector.
She joined The Piece Hall team after a long and successful career in the pub trade, where she was responsible for hundreds of sites and multi-million-pound budgets, delivering business growth and operational efficiency.
MBA-qualified, she has a passion for coaching, mentoring, and driving continuous improvement to achieve sustainable commercial success.
Claire Waspe
Finance Director
Claire Waspe
Finance Director
A CIMA‑qualified accountant, Claire has more than two decades of experience in financial leadership across the transport and cultural sectors.
With a reputation for being hands‑on, approachable, and committed to high standards, she is passionate about improving financial processes, providing analysis that shapes strategic decisions and making finance accessible and useful for all.
She has a strong belief that good financial management is about people as much as numbers and works closely with colleagues to ensure all activities are financially sustainable, well‑planned, and aligned with organisational values.