Our trustees
Sir David Bell, Chairman
Sir David Bell is a non-executive director of the Economist, chair of Sadlers Wells, the University of Roehampton, Crisis, Common Purpose, the London Transport Museum, the Media Standards Trust, the Transformation Trust, the Institute of War and Peace Reporting and the Walpole Committee.
He also serves on the boards of the International Youth Foundation, Plan International, and Silatech and is a trustee of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and a member of the Honorary Council of the Royal National Theatre.
David was Chairman of the Financial Times from 1996 until his retirement at the end of 2009 and served on the board of Pearson Plc for thirteen years until May 2009. Until his retirement David also served as Chairman of Pearson Inc and as Pearson's Director for People with responsibility for the company's 36,000 people in 61 countries.
He was also Chair of the Millennium Bridge Trust (1995-2002), responsible for conceiving the first new bridge across Thames in the centre of London for 100 years.
David was born in Henfield, Sussex and was educated at Cambridge University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is married, with three children, and lives in Islington.
David received his knighthood for services to industry, the arts and charity.
Hugh Biddell
Hugh is Head of Charities and Public Sector, UK Corporate Banking, The Royal Bank of Scotland. He runs a relationship team looking after large charities, Local authorities, NHS and foundation trusts and government bodies. In addition, he has a role to encourage volunteering across the Corporate Bank and is a member of the RBS Group Community Banking Steering Committee.
Tim Child
Tim is Chief Executive of The Optima Energy Group, an international oil trading and shipping company. He has been involved with Crisis for a number of years through volunteering at Crisis at Christmas. He is Chairman of Trustees of Deptford Reach, a day centre working with homeless people in south London and a member of the Board of Management of the Rockdale Housing Association which provides residential care and housing for elderly people in Kent.
Liz Cleaver
As Controller, BBC Learning, Liz is responsible for all learning activity across the BBC. She took up the post in September 2003. Under Liz, BBC Learning has launched a new generation of ambitious learning campaigns that aim to inspire and support millions of people to take action beyond the broadcast of BBC TV and radio programmes, community activity and work with partner organisations.
Jane Furniss
Jane is Chief Executive of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. In addition to her work with Crisis, Jane is a trustee of NICRO UK, a charity which raises money to support work with young people in S Africa. She is also a lay member of the Legal Complaints Service which deals with complaints against solicitors.
Philip Graf CBE, Vice Chairman
Philip joined the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo in 1983, which became Trinity International Holdings in 1985. He subsequently became Chief Executive in 1993 and following the merger with the Mirror Group, became Chief Executive of Trinity Mirror Group from 1999 -2002. In 2003 he was asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to carry out a review of the BBC's online activities. Philip was appointed Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of Ofcom in November 2005 and is a Partner with the executive coaching firm Praesta. He received a CBE for services to regional newspapers in the Queen's birthday honours in 2003.
Heather Lamont, Treasurer
Heather formerly a volunteer at Crisis, was Finance Director of the British Lung Foundation and then spent five years as editor of Charity Finance magazine, before working as an auditor with the charity specialist firm Kingston Smith. Since 2005 Heather has worked in investment management for charities and is now a client director at CCLA, the UK's largest manager of charitable funds. At Crisis, Heather chairs the trustees' finance sub-committee. She is also a trustee of the National Animal Welfare Trust and the Cripplegate Foundation.
Hannah Lownsbrough
Hannah is a consultant working on campaigns for non-profit organisations, focusing on online activism. She has worked with 38degrees.org, Stop Climate Chaos and Friends of the Earth, amongst others. She also helps to run a mentoring project for refugees in London. Previously, she was a researcher at the thinktank Demos, where she published reports on public services, community organisations and social exclusion. She has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
John Samuel
John is an experienced construction professional who was the Operations Director on the main board of Rok plc for four years, responsible for the company's building and maintenance operations. Previously John had held various positions within Balfour Beatty over a period of 23 years.
Canon Bruce Saunders
In 2004, Bruce was appointed Canon Pastor at the Cathedral, effectively the Vicar of the Cathedral parish, responsible for the people, relationships with the local community, and the Cathedral Education programme. Crisis has a long relationship with Southwark Cathedral. In 2004, the Chief Executive took the risk of inviting one of the Cathedral clergy to celebrate a Midnight Mass at Crisis at Christmas. Bruce conducted the services at Christmas 2005 and 2006. He is a trustee of a number of local charitable organisations, a school governor, a member of the Better Bankside (Business Improvement District) Corporate Social Responsibility Group and of the Bankside Residents Forum Management Committee.
Harish Bhayani
Harish is Principal of PRM Diversity Consultants, which helps organisations to develop and achieve their diversity objectives and strategies in sustainable ways. He founded PRM in 2001 after a 22 year career at Esso, Rover Group and Arthur Anderson. Harish joined the board of trustees upon the merger of Crisis with Off the Streets and into Work, where he was chair of the trustee board. Harish also works in a voluntary capacity as a Young Enterprise Business Adviser. He holds a masters level degree in engineering from Imperial College, London.
Andrew Newell
Andrew has regularly volunteered at Crisis at Christmas. He brings to the Board over 30 years experience in the UK Personal Financial Services Industry. Currently he is a Non Executive Director and Chair of Audit Committee at Kent Reliance Building Society, Group Treasurer of East Thames Group Ltd, Chair of the Audit Committee at the Football Association, and is Chair of the Independent Monitoring Board of Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre. He was also a trustee of Off the Streets and Into Work, a homeless charity which merged with Crisis in April 2010.
