DACS appoints four new Board members to work towards our strategic goals and mission
Following our recent Annual General Meeting, DACS is delighted to officially announce four new appointments to the DACS Board: Lira Mendonca, Tiphaine Des Déserts, Mike Muller and Jen Holdsworth.
Joining Chair Margaret Heffernan and the existing board members, the new directors will play a key role in shaping DACS' strategic goals that launched earlier this year. Together, they will support our mission to champion, protect, and manage the rights of artists and maximise their royalties.
I am delighted to welcome Tiphaine Des Déserts, Jen Holdsworth, Lira Mendonca and Mike Muller to the DACS board. Together, they bring tremendous experience and expertise in strategy, technology, law, and the art market, all united by a deep commitment to supporting artists.
Their knowledge and perspectives will be invaluable as we continue to defend the economic and social value produced by artists, maximising their royalties, defending their rights at a time when these are under attack and ensuring creators are recognised, respected, and fairly rewarded.
With such a dynamic board, DACS is well placed to shape a stronger future for visual artists and ensure their vital contributions to society are both valued and sustained.
Chair
About the new board members
Lira Mendonca
Lira is Managing Director at Alamy, a global visual content platform, where she leads strategy, growth, partnerships, digital innovation, and organisational performance. She holds an MBA from Manchester Business School and is a Chartered Accountant. With a strong track record in commercial leadership, governance, and transformation, Lira is passionate about supporting creative communities. Her career spans corporate, independent, and non-profit sectors across creative, digital, and other diverse industries.
I’m delighted to join the DACS Board and help support the creative communities whose work enriches us all. With a background in strategy, growth, and digital innovation, I look forward to guiding DACS’ efforts to shape opportunities and protect artists’ interests.
Managing Director, Alamy
Tiphaine Des Déserts
Tiphaine is a French qualified lawyer with over a decade of private practice in Business and IP Law. She has advised creative industry clients across France, Brazil, and the UK and is now serving in-house at Getty Images, a leading visual content provider creating and distributing creative and editorial content across the globe, moving the world with images. Her international career includes serving as an IP Law lecturer at Mackenzie University in São Paulo, Brazil.
I truly believe that a society in which artists and creators can fully enjoy the benefits of their fundamental rights as authors, and realise the economic value attached to those rights, is a thriving society. We need artists and creators to imagine, design, envision, and innovate in order to nurture and enrich our communities. I am honoured to have the opportunity to engage in discussions aimed at safeguarding and strengthening these rights, for the benefit of creators and, more broadly, for the world we all live in.
Getty Images
Mike Muller
Mike Muller was Chief Technology Officer and founder of ARM, one of the UK’s most successful technology companies pioneering the licensing of IP. He is currently a trustee of the David Parr House, an intricately patterned publicly accessible Victorian terraced house, as well as a trustee and supporter of The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge.
Having spent my career in technology, including pioneering IP licensing at ARM, I am excited to bring that experience to the DACS Board to help support, protect, and sustain the work of artists in today’s rapidly evolving creative landscape.
Ex Chief Technology Officer and Founder, ARM
Jen Holdsworth
Jen Holdsworth is a strategic leader with over 18 years of experience working with the artist BANKSY. She serves as Director of Pest Control Office LTD and also consults as a Creative Director for several high-profile clients and institutions. Jen is known for building discreet, resilient infrastructures and executing work with vision, discretion, and operational excellence - aligning creative ambition with reputation and long-term strategy.
I'm honoured to join the DACS Board at a moment when protecting artists’ rights is more important than ever. Artist’s Resale Right is a vital mechanism to ensure artists share in the value of their work and to sustain diverse artistic careers. I’m committed to supporting DACS in strengthening these rights and building a more equitable art world.
Pest Control Office
