Tom O'Leary

Tom joined Historic Royal Palaces in 2017 from The Science Museum Group where he had been Director of Learning across the four national museums of the Group. Prior to this he was Head of Public Engagement and Learning at the Houses of Parliament for 8 years. This was preceded by working in The National Archives for 10 years in various roles, culminating in Head of Online and Education. He started his career teaching History in a comprehensive school.  Tom also founded TEDxHousesofParliament in 2012 and was Director of TEDxLondon from 2015 – 2017.

Tom is responsible for creating distinctive HRP experiences to convey the essence of each site, motivating people to visit and revisit, and ensuring that the organisation continues to be recognised for high quality, distinctive and transformative engagement and learning. This is achieved through providing inspiring and memorable experiences for all their visitors, including school groups as well as for wider audiences offsite and online.

He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been a trustee for a range of organisations including Westminster Abbey, the RAF Museum and Culture 24. Currently he is on the Humanities School Advisory Board for Royal Holloway University and is a trustee of the London Museum of Water and Steam. Using the Thames like a Tudor, he commutes to work at Hampton Court Palace in a kayak.