Ray Jones is often described by colleagues and friends as “Mr London.”

He is a passionate advocate for live music and theatre, which can be clearly seen by his career to date. First as Head Concierge in several top London hotels before founding Centre Stage – a pioneering tour operator packaging live entertainment with hotel accommodation.

Selling his own business he joined the board of a company traded on the London Stock Exchange. Once again breaking new ground the company took cultural tourism to new levels.

During this period Ray served as Non Executive Director at Visit London and as Executive Director of West End Theatre Bookings, a rapidly-growing Theatre Ticket Agency.

In 2012 the company was sold to the travel giant Cox and Kings and Ray stepped down to join Time Out as Global Business Development Director.

As well as overseeing commercial relationships Ray developed Time Out Live offering on-brand live experiences to readers.

Ray stepped down from his role at Time Out in August 2017 to become founding director and CEO at TALENTBANQ – now one of London’s leading grassroots live music promoters.

In 2023 TALENTBANQ ran over 1,000 live gigs making a significant contribution to the cultural economy in London.

TALENTABANQ has hosted CIEE placements from music business faculties in LA and New York.

Students from both managed festival stages right in the heart of London and returned to the USA with new learning and true friends at TALENTBANQ.