Our Trustees and Patrons

As Registrar at the University of Warwick, Rachel is responsible for the professional services of the University. Rachel joined Warwick after a long career in the Civil Service, the last 8 years of which were as a Director General in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills where she covered legal, corporate services and policy (skills, regulation, large and small businesses, local growth). She joined the Civil Service as a lawyer from Linklaters.

She is Vice Chair of LEAP Confronting Conflict, and on the boards of Future Fit, the Warwick College Group, the Royal Society of Arts Academies, and is on the Executive Committee of AHUA. She is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and the City of London.

She is a Companion of the Order of the Bath, was named in the 2016 FTSE 100 “Women to Watch” and The Times 100 “Most Influential Lawyers”, 2012.

Multicultural executive with +20 years in life sciences covering access, global
strategy, operations, and clinical program development across multiple geographies
including Europe, Latin America, United States, and the Middle East for some of the
world’s most recognizable healthcare organisations. Most recently, was heading the
Vaccines and Pharmaceutical business for GSK in the UK.

In 2020 joined Google as EMEA Head for Healthcare and Life sciences with the goal
of solving some of the toughest problems that affect human health by harnessing the
power of data and technology.

His experience in working with governments, industry associations, payers, patient
groups, media, and consumers have focused on achieving the quadruple aim of
improving healthcare outcomes, enhancing the patient and clinician experience,
whilst supporting affordability goals. Some recent examples include recognition by
Forbes as one of the 50 most influential leaders in the Middle East and more recently
co-leading on behalf of pharma a 5 year deal with the National Health Service (NHS)
delivering medicine innovation and access for UK patients.

Barbara was appointed Director General, Work and Health Services in June 2022. 

Barbara has had a career in both the public and private sectors, leading, advising and delivering services for many Whitehall departments. She started her career at IBM before moving to Serco to run service delivery activities for the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Her most recent role before joining the department was as the Public Services Partner for PA Consulting. This wide-ranging role included providing critical support for Test and Trace during the pandemic. 

Her previous roles include: 

• Partner, Public Services, PA Consulting 
• Head of Operations for Genomics Covid 19 response at the Department of Health and Social Care  
• Various positions including Managing Director, Citizen Services and Government Services Director, Central Government Division, Serco Group plc 
• Transformation Leader, Home Office 
• Global Account Director, IBM UK plc 

Barbara lives in Winchester with her partner and two children.  

Gareth Davies is Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business and Trade. Previously he was Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade.

Gareth has also been the Second Permanent Secretary and a Director General in the Department for Transport. His responsibilities included decarbonising transport, technology, international and security.

Earlier in his career he was a Director General in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He has led the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and was a Private Secretary in Downing Street.

Gareth started his career in PricewaterhouseCoopers working across Central and Eastern Europe and has worked for AIA, the life insurance company based in Hong Kong.

Jasvinder Deo is the Global Audit and Risk Director at PZ Cussons, having joined the multi-national consumer goods company in February 2023.  In her role, Jasvinder has responsibility for supporting the business in effectively managing risks and strengthening internal control across its diverse global footprint, which includes markets spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Jasvinder is a Chartered Accountant, having originally trained and qualified in Australia with PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Prior to PZ Cussons, Jasvinder worked for Tesco for 13 years, gaining a wealth of experience in the retail sector. She has held senior positions, including that of Group Audit Director, and more recently as the Group Risk and Transformation Director.  In this role, Jasvinder shaped and refined the company’s approach to risk management, supporting the business to navigate through key challenges impacting the retail industry.  

Jasvinder’s dedication and passion for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace saw her serve as Head Office Director Sponsor for Tesco’s BAME network, actively contributing to the implementation of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy.  Her contributions in this area, led to her being recognised as one of the Top 10 EMpower Ethnic Executive Minority Role Models in 2021.

Joanne joined Birmingham City Council in September 2024.

Before her move to Birmingham City Council, Joanne was the first female Chief Executive of Manchester City Council between April 2017 and August 2024. During her seven and a half year tenure in Manchester, Joanne dealt with several unprecedented events and led the council’s response to two major crises – the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Joanne was named the Local Authority Chief Executive of the Year at the annual MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards. She then oversaw Manchester City Council attain ‘Council of the Year’ status in July 2022.

Born in Shard End Birmingham, Joanne’s career started in local government as an apprentice with Birmingham City Council when she was 16. Throughout her career to date, she has built a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives across many cities in the UK.

Joanne has extensive experience in local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne also served as the President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) between 2020 and 2022.

In the 2024 New Years Honours list, Joanne was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government.

Kate is an experienced charity CEO and trustee passionate about the entrepreneurial and dynamic role the charity sector has to play in creating a better society.

Kate is currently CEO of Chance to Shine, the UK cricket charity that exists to ensure all young people have the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.  By 2028, Chance to Shine wants to help 1 million young people each year to have a brighter future and fulfil their potential.

Prior to that, Kate was the founding CEO of Smart Works, the women’s employment charity, for 10 years, overseeing its growth from 1 to 11 centres, helping 10,000 women each year succeed at job interviews and transform their lives. Smart Works was named Social Action Charity of the Year in 2017 and was honoured to announce the patronage of the Duchess of Sussex in 2019.

Kate spent the first part of her career in consultancy, and she has served as Trustee, Vice Chair and then Chair of a leading family charity.

Maria Laine is president of Boeing in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Nordic region.
In this role, Laine leads and oversees all of Boeing’s business activities in these
countries, working from the Boeing UK office in Central London. Laine’s focus is to grow
the company’s local presence and business in the region.

Laine has three decades of global experience at Boeing, including working in many of
Boeing’s key European markets, along with Asia, Australia and the United States.
Most recently, Laine was vice president, International Business Development, for
Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security and Global Services business units. In this role,
Laine led global business development and industrial partnerships for Boeing’s defense,
space and government services portfolios.

Previously, Laine was vice president of International Strategic Partnerships where her
team developed and implemented BDS industrial participation programs in support of
international campaigns, built alliances and partnerships to enable future growth in
existing and new markets.

Prior to that, Laine served as vice president of Boeing Northern Europe based in
Amsterdam, where she expanded business growth and the company’s presence in the
region, strengthened industrial and technology partnerships and implemented corporate
projects of strategic importance. She also served as the managing director of Boeing
Netherlands, B.V. in addition to being on the board of directors of Boeing’s key entities
in the region.

Prior to her career at Boeing spanning a variety of different roles, Laine also worked at
the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration on the Nordic
desks, as well as at the US Embassy in Helsinki in the Commercial section.
Laine has also served on the Board of Directors and leadership committees of a number
of not-for-profit organisations and trade associations. Laine served as the Chair of the
Board of Directors for the Global Industrial Collaboration Association (GICA), Chair of
the Offsets Working Group of the US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), as well as
on the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark. More
recently she has been appointed  to the International Advisory Board of British-American
Business (BAB).

Laine has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a
bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of
California Santa Barbara. Laine was born in Finland, spent her childhood in Sweden
and moved to the United States in 1975, after which she has moved back and forth
across the Atlantic numerous times. Her native languages include Finnish, Swedish and
English, and she is also proficient in French and Spanish. She is married and has two
daughters.

Mel is Chief Executive of MTVH (Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing) one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable homes to rent and buy. 

Mel has extensive experience in local government, housing and regeneration. Prior to joining MTVH Mel was Chief Executive at Nottingham City Council where he provided leadership to the council’s 6,000 staff delivering vital public services on behalf of one of the UK’s Core Cities, securing economic growth and improving life chances.  He also collaborated with others to rapidly deliver the East Midlands devolution deal and oversaw the elections for the first ever East Midlands regional mayor. 

Mel has a successful track record in the management of large-scale customer facing services, organisational change and transformation initiatives, and working in partnership to deliver large-scale regeneration and development projects.

From 2015 to 2020 Mel was Chief Executive of Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council where he guided officers and elected members during the conclusion of a £1.2bn Joint Venture for the 3,500 home first phase of Manydown, a new Garden Community.

Mel holds a BSc (Hons) in Land Management, an MBA from City University Business School, London and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

He was previously a Commissioner on the Commission for Creating Healthy Cities established by Kellogg College, University of Oxford, in partnership with The Prince’s Foundation.  

Simon Case became Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in September 2020.

As Cabinet Secretary, Simon is the most senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister and is responsible to all ministers for the running of Cabinet Government. As Head of the Civil Service, he leads nearly half a million public servants putting government policy into practice.

Prior to this, he was Permanent Secretary in Number 10 leading the COVID-19 Taskforce.

Between 2018 and 2020, he was Principal Private Secretary to HRH The Duke of Cambridge and before this, worked in various roles across the Civil Service, including Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Sir Alex Chisholm became Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office and Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service in April 2020. He was previously Permanent Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and prior to that he was Joint Permanent Secretary for BEIS. 

His previous career highlights include:

Permanent Secretary for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Chairperson and Commissioner of Ireland’s communications regulatory agency, ComReg and Chair of the Economic Regulators Network in Ireland. He also held senior executive positions in the media, technology and e-commerce industries, with Pearson plc, Financial Times Group, eCountries Inc and Ecceleration Ltd. 

Penny is a Senior Non-Executive Director at Hargreaves Lansdown. She is also a Non
Executive Director at QBE Insurance Group Limited and Mitie Group Plc.

Penny has a wealth of executive expertise in the financial services industry with over 30
years’ experience, including roles as Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer
at Direct Line, Group Chief Risk Officer at Prudential, Group Chief Financial Officer at
Omega Insurance and Chief Financial Officer for Zurich’s UK General Insurance.
Penny has held leadership roles in relation to businesses in General Insurance, Life
Assurance, Wealth Management and Asset Management at scale and across US, Asia and
Europe.

Penny Co-Chairs of the FTSE Women Leaders Review. She has recently been Chair for the
FCA Practitioner Panel and Board member for the Association of British Insurers.

Cat started her career at the accountancy firm PwC, dedicated to Government and Public Sector finances, mainly working in assurance roles. Over more than a decade, Cat worked with clients across Health, Local Government, Higher Education and Central Government sectors.

Cat joined the Civil Service in 2013 first at the Legal Aid Agency where she worked on the digitisation of civil legal aid, and removing the long standing financial accounts qualification as the Director of Finance and Digital.

Cat went on to become the Group Finance Director at the Ministry of Justice overseeing all aspects of financial management and supporting prison reform, courts reform and transformation programmes. In 2017, Cat joined the Board of the Ministry of Defence as Director General Finance. Cat led the oversight of the Defence portfolio, and was the Race Champion for the Department.

Cat joined HM Treasury in 2020 as Director General Public Spending. She took on the role of Acting Permanent Secretary in September 2022, and in October 2022 was appointed to Second Permanent Secretary. 

Lord Mark Sedwill was Cabinet Secretary from April 2018 to September 2020 and National Security Advisor from April 2017 to Sept 2020. He is currently the Chair of the Atlantic Future Forum and the G7 Panel on Global Economic Resilience

Prior to this, Mark was the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office (2013-17), FCO Political Director (2012-13), NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan (2010-11), HM Ambassador to Afghanistan (2009-10) and Director of UKvisas (2006-8). He joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1989, serving in Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus and Pakistan.