Charity Governance Summit

Laura is the Senior Manager for Higher Risk Cases and Quality Assurance at the Scottish Charity Regulator where she leads teams dealing with a range of complex and challenging casework as well as accounting and annual reporting matters. Laura is also one of the joint-chairs of the UK Charities SORP Committee and has been involved with the Committee for many years. Laura trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and worked in private practice until 2007 when she joined OSCR. She is an active member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland.

Caron Bradshaw is Chief Executive of Charity Finance Group. She joined CFG in June 2010 from the ICAEW, where she was Head of the Charity and Voluntary Sector. In addition to supporting a number of small charities and community organisations Caron has been a member of the NCVO’s National Assembly and the Charities SORP Committee, has sat on a number of government working parties, is a member of the Church of England Pension Board’s Audit and Risk Committee, and is Chair of the Board of the Directory of Social Change (and her local hockey club). Caron is a trained Barrister and has a wide array of experience across charity, regulation/law, policy, member support, and professional ethics.

Caron is an avidly ‘social’ CEO and was been named in the top 30 social CEOs in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2015 she was named Charity Principal of the Year at the Charity Times Awards. In 2016 she received the Association Excellence Award for Leadership. She was named in the top 30 UK social influences in Risk, Compliance and Regtech 2017 and in the Charity Times top 25 Influencers in the charity sector 2019. In October 2020, Caron was named Woman of the Year (non-CCAB) at the Women in Finance and Accountancy Awards.

Caron was honoured with an OBE for 'services to charity' in the New Year's Honours list 2021.

Sir Stephen is globally recognised as a leading voice in charity and philanthropy. He has provided advice to governments nationally and internationally. He has led the development of the charity sector in the United Kingdom through his 16 year leadership of the UK organisation for charity executives ( ACEVO). He is well known as the voice of charity in the national media and has spoken extensively in international fora. He has worked with successive governments in the United Kingdom developing public sector policy, charity law and in health and social care. He is the only charity leader ever to have addressed a full meeting of the British cabinet. He has also advised governments in China, Australia and Pakistan. He founded and became the first Secretary General of EUCLID, the European wide third sector leaders network. He was also a prominent member of the Commonwealth civil society committee. For a decade Sir Stephen chaired the Social Investment Business, an organisation founded to make social finance available to 3rd sector organisations: at peak £400 million was invested. He has also had numerous non-executive appointments. For example, he was asked by the Prime Minister to review government policy on people with learning disabilities following the Winterborne view scandal and he has become known as a strong campaigner for the rights of such people. He is a Patron of the Muslim Charity Forum and a trustee of the world’s first children’s hospice. He is currently the director of Charity Futures, the leading charity think tank committed to developing a more sustainable sector. He is the Director of the Oxford Institute of Charity, anew and developing body in the University of Oxford committed to research and teaching around charity leadership. He has received accolades for his leadership work from former UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron, and was knighted in 2011

With over 20 years of multisector experience on business ethics, Alex now works independently to support organisations to thrive with integrity. We have invited Alex to speak at this governance and power session as she recently advised the UK Charity Governance Code Steering Group regarding the inclusion of power dynamics within its Integrity Principle. To support the sector with this work, Alex aims to develop an ‘open source’ community of practice later this year. Alex is a trustee for the Sophie Hayes Foundation, was the former Head of Ethics and Compliance for Oxfam GB following the safeguarding crisis. .

Susie is a director and heads the human capital advisory team, joining Grant Thornton in 2020.

Susie and colleagues offer a range of culture, business strategy, human capital, board advisory and evaluation services to a range of stakeholders across the islands.

Susie has a wealth of board level Human capital experience having worked for a range of blue chip companies and she also holds a number of Non-Executive Directorships and is the founding Director of the charity Bright Futures LBG.

As the Managing Director of TMF Training, he develops and delivers a wide range of management workshops and training programmes.

Together with Rob Robson, Philip has been delivering courses through TMF over a number of years and to a variety of audiences, both nationally and internationally.

Philip’s training style is highly participative and interactive; his delivery is thought provoking and challenging. He continually questions the status quo and encourages others to do the same; to explore to re-examine and to think creatively to see if there is ‘a better way’. In a global competitive environment with intense pressure to deliver results, this is an approach he rigorously defends.

Before joining the Fundraising Regulator’s policy team in 2020, Gavin held trust, foundation and statutory fundraising roles at Girlguiding UK and Terrence Higgins Trust. Gavin built strategic partnerships and raised funds to support the charitable activities of these two national organisations. He currently serves as Trustee and at Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons' Trust in London.

Paul Farmer has been Chief Executive of Mind, the leading mental health charity working in England and Wales since May 2006.

Paul is Chair of the NHS England Independent Oversight & Advisory Group which brings together health and care leaders and experts to oversee the current mental health long term plan for the NHS in England. He co-authored ‘Thriving at Work’ for the government, setting out how to transform mental health in work places.

Paul is a Commissioner at Historic England. He has an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of East London, is an Honorary Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford, and The Royal College of Psychiatrists, and was awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours 2016.

Pesh is Global Head of Social Purpose and Non Profits for Crowe. He has been involved in the not for profit sector, both professionally and as a volunteer, for over 30 years.

Pesh is joint author of 'Charities-The Law and Practice' and has written a book on charity trading. He has extensive experience of assurance, governance, structures, trading, tax matters, risk management, strategy, performance measurement and knowledge management in the non profit sector. Pesh lectures and writes internationally on sector matters.

Pesh has been appointed by the Charity Commission to act as sole trustee and interim manager of five charities and undertaken special work for the Charity Commission both in the UK and overseas. He has been Finance Director of two charities and is Special Advisor to the Charity Finance Group.

Pesh was a member of the Accounting Standards Board's Committee on Accounting for Public Benefit Entities for five years and is also a charity trustee. He has been a member of the Charity SORP Committee for over 20 years.

Gayle Gedala joined Amnesty International (International Secretariat) as Governance Director in 2020, managing the Secretariat’s Governance Programme with responsibility for Amnesty’s global governance structures, while also acting as Company Secretary for the International Secretariat in the United Kingdom. Gayle is an Associate of the Chartered Governance Institute (UK & Ireland) with over 15 years of experience in multilateral, charity, public sector and international organisations.

Prior to joining the International Secretariat, Gayle was Assistant Secretary to the Governing Boards of the Commonwealth Secretariat, working closely with London’s Commonwealth diplomatic core. Gayle has served as a Company Secretary for a variety of not-for-profit boards, providing advice and support on governance, legal and regulatory issues within the humanitarian, human rights and social housing sectors. Gayle holds a Bachelors and Masters in Laws (Public International Law).

Qualified Chartered Secretary specialising in the charity sector with a special interest in charity board behaviour and conflicts of interest/loyalty. A track record of increased effectiveness and impact as a result of employing extensive experience in governance, financial acumen, strategic planning, innovation and partnership working, reputation management and turn around skills.

“I enjoy finding a way for boards to discuss undiscussables and finding practical solutions that will help improve board performance”

Alison Gill is a founding director and CEO of Bvalco. She helps boards and leadership teams prepare for the future by designing and delivering external board reviews, with a particular emphasis on the human behaviour and dynamics elements that can contribute to, or undermine, board effectiveness. She is valued for her ability to listen deeply to issues and concerns and for helping leaders find actionable solutions.

By background Alison is a behavioural psychologist. Prior to co-founding Bvalco, Alison spent 18 years running a consultancy helping clients to understand the impact of values, behaviour and culture on performance. She acted as a special advisor on matters of culture and behaviour to Sir David Walker, for his Review of Banks and Other Financial Institutions. This gave rise to the recommendation in the Corporate Governance Code that boards should be reviewed externally once every three years.

Alison is keen to improve the quality of boards through the education of board directors. In 2011 she helped to set up and design the FT’s award winning Non- Executive Director Diploma. She is a lead tutor and Advisory Board Member for the diploma. The diploma has several hundred graduates, of which more than 70% go on to become successful board directors.

A keen sportswoman, Alison is a triple Olympian for rowing and now has a passion for the sport of eventing. She rides as a competitive amateur but more importantly supports young rider Lissa Green.

Deborah Gilshan FCG provides strategic advice on investment stewardship, sustainable finance and diversity. She has extensive experience engaging with board directors, senior leaders, regulators and investors on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Previously, Deborah was an Investment Director in the ESG team at Aberdeen Standard Investments and Head of Sustainable Ownership at RPMI Railpen, the investment arm of the UK Railways Pension Scheme, having started her career in responsible investment at the Co-operative Insurance Society in December 2000. Deborah initially worked in corporate tax at EY and read Mathematics & English at the University of Manchester.

Deborah serves on the Advisory Panel of the UK’s Financial Reporting Council and is an Ambassador of the 30% Club. She is a Fellow of ICSA: The Governance Institute, holds the ICSA’s Professional Award in corporate governance and chairs the Ethics & Systemic Risk Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network. In October 2011, Deborah founded The 100% Club, a multi-sector alliance dedicated to gender equality. She advises the Women Societies Alliance, which seeks to create equal opportunities in the finance industry for female graduates. Deborah has been recognised for her work on empowering the female talent pipeline and promoting gender diversity.

Deborah is the lead author of two publications: “The Ethics of Diversity” with Mark Chambers for the UK’s Institute of Business Ethics (December 2020) and “Say on Pay: Six Years On – Lessons from the UK Experience” for Railpen Investments with Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (September 2009). She is a regular commentator on corporate governance, shareholder engagement and diversity and her work has featured in the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and other mainstream financial media.

Allison Howe is Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance at the NSPCC. Having joined the Society as the Charity Governance Code was launched in 2017, she has worked with trustees to develop and embed the principles into the Society's governance, particularly in relation to board diversity.

Prior to joining the NSPCC, Allison has worked in governance in a variety of charitable and public sector organisations including Scope, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsmen.

Allison is a member of the Chartered Governance Institute and is experienced in Board evaluation and facilitation, in her spare time, Allison is a keen Crystal Palace supporter and can often be found at Selhurst Park feeling "glad all over."

Maisie is policy officer at ACEVO, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. Together with their network, ACEVO inspires and supports civil society leaders by providing connections, advocacy and skills. Maisie works across ACEVO’s six policy pillars, and leads on the climate crisis workstream, managing member and staff climate crisis working groups and creating content and events to help leaders take their first steps towards net zero.

Philip is a partner in the charity and social enterprise department at Bates Wells. He advised most of the former trustees of Kids Company in their successful defence of disqualification proceedings brought by the Official Receiver.

He advises charities, social enterprises and other public and social benefit organisations on governance, charity law, corporate and commercial law, and regulatory issues.

Philip has sat on several charity and non-profit boards and was instrumental in establishing the Bates Wells Foundation and the Stephen Lloyd Awards, which that charity runs, supporting innovative, early stage projects to achieve meaningful social change.

Justina is a Chartered Secretary with an operating function as Head of Governance and Legal at OSTC Group, in regulated Financial Services. Starting her career in retail banking at NatWest, Justina then moved into Healthcare Administration and Governance, working at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, then further as Deputy Board Secretary of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, before joining OSTC. Justina is a member of the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI), a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (WCCSA), and a Charity Trustee.

Lauren is a global award winning transformation governance specialist in the not for project sector with 10+ years’ experience managing complex governance structures. Lauren has been a public speaker on governance panels worldwide.

Lauren’s passion and ambition is to help organisations thrive by modernising their governance to deliver lasting transformational change.

Lauren is part of the Modern Governance 100 community of general counsels, corporate secretaries and governance professionals as someone who demonstrates resilience, dedication and empathy in the face of a complex and ever-changing world.

Previously Head of Finance and Resources at the Tudor Trust and prior to that Director of Finance and Resources at Crisis UK, Fiona now works as a Charity Consultant. She recently provided the Secretariat for the Quadrennial Review of Access – the Foundation for Social Investment. She is currently working with a number of charities, supporting their finance and investment functions. Fiona is co-author of NCVO’s Good Guide to Financial Management and is training to be a Transformational Life Coach.

Gulnaz is the Founder of Legal & Governance Hub, a business law consultancy for startups, scaleups and SMEs. Their services include corporate law and secretarial services, commercial law, IP and employment law. Gulnaz is also a Board Director for a social enterprise advocating leadership - Sports Leaders.

Prior to establishing her own business, Gulnaz worked as regulatory counsel and chartered company secretary within Financial Services. She has over 5 years Board level exposure including attending, presenting and training on regulatory developments.

Cosette M. Reczek is a Chartered Governance Professional and has over a dozen years experience in the charity sector, including her current roles as Chair, Citizens Advice Lewisham and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and Board Trustee, Unicef UK. As an independent consultant Cosette has undertaken board effectiveness reviews and advised on a diverse range of topics including organisation design and audit committee strategy.

Max Rutherford is Head of Policy at the Association of Charitable Foundations, the UK membership body for grant-making charities. He provides strategic insight, policy intelligence and programme leadership, and enables collaboration and engagement between members. He represents the foundation sector to colleagues in civil society, the media, officials in government departments and parliamentarians, aiming to create an enabling policy and regulatory environment in which funders will most effectively achieve their missions. He serves as a trustee of a national mental health charity and as a member of the Charities SORP Committee. He was previously a programme manager at the Barrow Cadbury Trust and has also held roles in government and parliament.

Joss Saunders is the General Counsel and Company Secretary of Oxfam GB. He is also the General Counsel of Oxfam International, which is the Netherlands based umbrella body for the 21 members of the Oxfam family around the world. He joined Oxfam in 1988, and has advised both the UK entity, the Netherlands entity, and several of the other members around the world on their governance. He has a particular interest in accountability, and was on the GRI working group that established a not for profit framework of reporting for GRI. He is also a Trustee of several charities, including www.lawyersagainstpoverty.org . Joss is also a consultant to law firm Blake Morgan, and has advised several international charities on their governance structure.

Srabani has worked in the not for profit sector for more than 30 years. She has a long leadership career, including three CEO roles and nearly 30 years serving on boards. Srabani has had four Board Chair roles, and is currently chair of international development agency ActionAid UK and a community based children’s charity called The Winch. In 2019 Srabani set up Full Colour to bring a fresh approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, taking a strategic and systemic approach to change. Clients include Friends of the Earth, Teach First, The RSPB, London Transport Museum, Oxford University’s Internet Institute, The Old Vic and Wildlife and Countryside Link, for which Full Colour is reviewing the state of ethnic diversity in England’s Environment Sector.

Helen Stephenson joined the Charity Commission as CEO in July 2017. Helen has extensive experience of senior leadership across the public and voluntary sectors, having previously served as Director of Early Years and Childcare at the Department of Education and Director of the Office for Civil Society. Helen has filled senior roles at the Big Lottery Fund and the Shaftesbury Society and was, chair of the National Childbirth Trust and a member of the Advisory Council of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. Helen also became a Charity Commission board member in September 2018.

Career

• Director of Early Years and Childcare, Department for Education, 2014-2017
• Director, Office for Civil Society and Government innovation Group, 2011-2014
• Deputy Director, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, 2007-2011
• Head of Strategic Policy and Partnerships, the Big Lottery Fund, 2004-2007
• Senior Policy Advisor, New Opportunities Fund/ Big Lottery Fund, 2001-2004

Voluntary experience

• NCVO Advisory Council, 2014-2017
• Trustee and Chair, National Childbirth Trust, 2015-2017
• Board Member, Big Society Trust, 2013-2017

Honours

• CBE for services to Civil Society in the Birthday Honours list, 2014

Chief Executive Officer, Charity Commission
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Charity Commission is responsible for its day-to-day management. This includes leading the commission’s senior management team. The CEO also has delegated responsibility for making sure the commission:

• carries out its statutory duties and responsibilities and exercises its legal powers appropriately
• develops plans, programmes and policies for the board to approve
• carries out the board’s strategies and plans for the future, including its contribution to legislative reform
• carries out the commission’s services in line with targets and performance indicators agreed by the board The CEO is accountable for the commission’s use of public funds, and reports on this to the Public Accounts Committee.

Louise has extensive knowledge of governance issues garnered from her 20-year career in the not-for-profit and public sectors, including education and the NHS, complemented by her experience as a school governor, pension and charity trustee.

Her work has covered the development of the code of governance for charities and voluntary organisations, board training, reviews and development, research into sector governance and the production of over 100 guidance notes aimed at the sector.

Brenda is a Partner at PwC, leading the firm’s Inclusion and Diversity consulting practice. She helps her clients to achieve their business goals by taking an enterprise-wide approach to Inclusion & Diversity and using innovative technology to drive change.

In her former role as Global Chair of the 30% Club, Brenda worked with Chairs, CEOs and leaders around the world and has been recognised with several awards for the results she has achieved through campaigning for greater gender balance. She is an advisor to the UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women on Boards and in the executive level of the FTSE 350 and a companion of the Chartered Management Institute.

Brenda is a regular media commentator and has contributed to a number of books on Inclusion and Diversity. She was listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance for three years running and in 2018, was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the financial sector and gender equality. She was also listed as the FT HERoes number one Champion of Women in Business in 2018 and in the summer of 2019, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Queen’s University.

A Canadian with a B.Comm from Queen's University, Brenda has more than 30 years of experience in capital markets, investment and relationship banking, with sector expertise in financial institutions. Prior to joining PwC, Brenda worked for a number of global financial institutions including ANZ, BNY Mellon, Lloyds Banking Group, BNP Paribas, Peregrine and Citi.

In her free time, Brenda is the Senior Independent Director for the England and Wales Cricket Board, a Trustee for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, and a Trustee for Sevenoaks School Foundation.