Non-executive board

From left to right our non-executive board are:

Chris Wood – Trustee Director

Chris began his career in the voluntary sector working for a homelessness project in Manchester. He then worked for North British Housing Association, before entering local government housing in Southampton and then in London. He is now a director of a management consultancy company working with public and private sector clients. Chris held a number of senior roles in local authorities, most recently as Acting Chief Executive of the London Borough of Newham from April 2007 to August 2008. He is a non-executive director of Sahara Homes.

Paul Doona – Trustee Director

Paul, a chartered accountant, was Finance Director and Company Secretary of St Modwen Properties from 1985 to 1999, managing the flotation and restructure of the company. After two years as Finance Director of Claims Direct, Paul undertook a number of finance director roles in the gaming sector and held non-executive roles in leisure, property, asset management and natural resources businesses.

Angela Horsman – Trustee Director

Angela has more than 25 years’ experience in leisure marketing. She worked for Saga, the market leader in services for the over-50s, where she was Marketing Director for Saga Holidays and then Communications Director for the Saga Group. Angela was previously marketing director of London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and was Chief Executive of a tourism development action programme in Kent. Angela currently works for Tangram Leisure and is a member of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution fundraising and communications committee.

Aman Dalvi OBE – Chairman

Aman is Corporate Director of Development and Renewal at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, responsible for development, planning, regeneration, the 2012 Olympic Unit, housing regeneration, the arm’s-length management organisation and economic development. Until 2008, Aman was Chief Executive of Gateway to London, leading the organisation promoting and developing the Thames Gateway area. He previously held senior roles in the Housing Corporation and was Chief Executive of Ujima Housing Association. Aman Dalvi is also a board member of the Olympic Park Legacy Board

Lesley James CBE – Trustee Director

Lesley progressed through human resources roles with a number of retailers before joining Tesco in 1985. She became a main board director in 1994 with responsibility for all HR functions. Since leaving Tesco in 1999 she has undertaken a range of non-executive roles in retail and customer service organisations, as well as with the Department for Trade and Industry and in charities. She is currently on the boards of the West Bromwich Building Society,St Modwen Plc and Hellsing Productions Ltd.

Graham Watts – Vice-Chairman, Chairman of Audit and Risk Committee

Graham is a chartered engineer and business executive with extensive board and corporate experience. He was on the board of British Nuclear Fuels Plc as Commercial Director and Chairman of BNFL North America from 1992 to 1999. Previously he was an executive director of British Airways and before that a management consultant.

Stephen Jack - Trustee Director (photo to come)

Stephen is a chartered accountant and has held a number of senior finance positions in international financial services organisations including Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and ING Barings. He was Group Finance Director of Collins Stewart Tullett plc from 2004 to 2006 and is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer of Compagnie Financière Tradition, a position he stands down from in March.
Since 2007 he has been the Chairman of the Independent Living Fund, a non-departmental public body of the Department for Work and Pensions, which provides support to nearly 20,000 disabled people across the UK. He is also a trustee and Treasurer of the Greater London Fund for the Blind.

Rima Makarem - Trustee Director (photo to come)

Rima was a non-executive director and Chair of Audit and Governance for NHS Haringey from 2007 until she was seconded to NHS London.
She previously worked for GlaxoSmithKline for six years, where she was latterly Director of Competitive Excellence, managing special corporate projects for the chief executive officer and operating board.
Prior to this, she was a management consultant, advising FTSE 100 companies on financial, strategic and operational issues. The Government Equalities Office and Cabinet Office appointed Rima as an ambassador for diversity in public appointments as part of a major national programme to encourage more people in under-represented groups to apply for public positions. Rima holds a PhD in Biochemistry and an MBA from leading international business school INSEAD.
A member of the Medical Research Council Audit and Finance Committee, Rima runs her own business conducting interim management and consultancy in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.