Bringing communities together

Ron is a career Procurement and Supply Chain professional and ex-President of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. Having worked in a number of leadership line and consulting roles on both buy- and sell-sides, Ron is now “semi-retired” and keeps himself busy with a mixed portfolio of roles as Non-Executive Director, Trustee and advisor/consultant. Ron is a keen cyclist having previously organised and cycled two London to Paris charity bike rides as well as several rides across Norway for World Play where he is also Chair of their Trustee board.

Stuart is a finance professional and member of the ICAEW since qualification in 1994. Previous roles include Finance Director of Wall to Wall Television, CFO at Simon & Schuster UK (with responsibility for UK, Europe and Australia) and CFO/COO at Argonon. Stuart is currently joint Managing Director of Greenbird Media Ltd.

Siddhi is an award-winning entrepreneur focused on social innovation to deliver on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. She is a passionate change agent and sits on the board of several think tanks and advocacy groups that improve health and wellbeing through the application of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. Siddhi’s ambition is to bridge the gender skills gap in technology and has set up a platform to inspire girls to code and follow careers in technology. As a TEDx license holder, she leads a team of volunteers who turn groundbreaking inspiring ideas into actions to transform local communities.

John has recently retired after 40 years as a housing and homelessness campaigner, the last thirty as CEO of Shelter Cymru, the independent Welsh charity. During John’s leadership of Shelter Cymru, it has grown to be one of the largest Welsh Charities providing expert housing advice in every local authority area and with an excellent reputation for its research, policy and campaigning work.

John has served on a number of Welsh Government Ministerial advisory bodies and task groups concerned with addressing homelessness, housing and poverty issues and most recently contributing to the current WG homelessness strategy. He has built up considerable experience and expertise in strategic planning and leadership, in communication and media strategies and lobbying and campaigning.

Christina is an Organisational Development and Change Management Consultant working with clients across various industries including the non-profit sector. Prior to setting up her own business, she spent her corporate career working for Mars in Procurement, Learning & Development and Talent roles. She previously volunteered with the LEAD Network Foundation where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and built up a portfolio of offerings to support D&I initiatives in the CPG and Retail sector and supported the organisation’s strategy work. Christina is also a Chartered Member of the CIPD.

Kieran is Head of Operations and Delivery for Sector Resilience at UK Finance, managing regulatory engagement, sector capability-building and industry exercising operations. He has led the design and delivery of sector-wide capabilities including a cyber security centre and a national access to cash programme. He has previously been Head of Corporate Governance and has led on acquisition activity. Kieran holds an MSc in Management with research focusing on strategic collaboration.

Karen has had a long career in Financial Services working for the likes of NatWest, American Express and Western Union, creating innovative payment solutions for global, multinational and small businesses. She is active in supporting women in the workplace, is a mental health first aider and mentors small businesses in her spare time. Outside of work Karen loves the theatre and ballet and is a keen Peloton user.