Board of Trustees

Mark became a Brandon trustee in June 2021. He is a Chartered Surveyor and a Fellow of the RICS. Having held Managing Partner roles in global organisations, he is currently the Non-Executive Chair of Eddisons Commercial Property. Mark runs a business consultancy that focusses on facilitating strategic workshops, mentoring and coaching with emotional intelligence.

Mark’s experience as a trustee in other charities has strengthened his belief in the need for inclusion alongside diversity.

With a dyslexic son, autistic nephew and a grandson with ADHD, Mark is determined to better understand individual needs, and use this and his skills/experience to help us work towards a more inclusive society where we all live the life we want to.

Claire joined our board as a trustee in February 2021. She is a qualified accountant, an experienced non-executive director and charitable trustee, and brings expert knowledge of risk management in very complex organisations.

Claire has worked at a strategic level across a range of sectors, including health, social care and housing, as well as for government departments, for organisations including the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the NHS. She is committed to helping organisations achieve the best possible standards of care and ensuring that we really listen to, and learn from, the people we support.

She was attracted to Brandon Trust by the vision and courage of everyone she has met and their determination to achieve the very best for those we support.

Mark joined the Board in April 2021. He is the CIO of Saïd Business School – University of Oxford, a globally renowned world Top 10 ranked business school. Prior to this, Mark held senior IT roles with Wellcome Trust and WHSmith, and was named in the 2015 UKTech50 most influential IT Leaders in the UK IT industry. He brings to Brandon an outstanding track record in customer service, business transformation, IT/digital strategy, and building high performing teams.

With a son with type1 diabetes, a profoundly deaf wife, and a mother-in-law with Alzheimers, Mark understands first-hand and shares Brandon’s values in allowing people to live the lives they choose and live free. Equality, inclusivity, and opportunity for all are his core personal values. Mark is honoured and passionate about the opportunity to join Brandon and serve the people we support as a trustee.

David joined our Board in February 2021. He is a qualified accountant, with a career spanning more than 20 years in a variety of global finance roles, including Head of Financial Control and Internal Audit.

He brings a wide range of experience across all aspects of the finance function from systems and process implementation and governance to commercial finance and pricing, control and compliance, and performance management. He is also a non-executive board member at Audit Wales and Hockey Wales.

David passionately believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to live the life they choose and was attracted to Brandon by the energy, optimism, and positivity of everyone he has met here.

Leigh joined our Board of Trustees in April 2021. He has a background in NHS management, including over 12 years as a Chief Executive of a number of NHS organisations. A geographer/epidemiologist by training, with a doctorate in mental health, Leigh continues to work for the NHS as a non-executive director in the Midlands, a management consultant, and an executive coach.

Leigh joins Brandon Trust with experience on the health and social care commissioning of services, and a strong passion to provide better support to enable the personal growth and achievement of those served by the Trust. He is a wellbeing guardian for staff in his current non-executive role, and a chair of the Charitable Funds Committee. He is keen to bring his Board and governance experience and act as an advocate and ambassador for Brandon and the people we support.

Leigh lives in Shropshire with his wife, an ex-NHS Chief Executive and Chief Nurse, and their two Welsh Springer Spaniels. Other loves of his are his three children and Leeds United FC.

Dawn joined Brandon’s Board of Trustees in April 2021. She was attracted to the role because of the way that Brandon values and involves supported people as individuals with individual skills, opinions and interests.

Dawn is a qualified nurse and teacher who has been working as a senior leader of services for people living with disabilities in the community and teaching care practitioners for many years. She has been a joint NHS and Local Authority Commissioner for independent housing, support and care for people with learning disabilities, helping everyone supported by these services to achieve the greatest possible independence.

Preeti joined our Board of Trustees in May 2021. She believes in the increasing need of inclusion for all in society and the power that technology can play in providing equal opportunities in society.

Preeti is a qualified accountant with over 20 years of global experience in risk, internal audit, governance across various industries, and is currently the Global Head of Internal Audit at Vodafone. Her extensive experience provides a deep understanding of the risks and governance requirements across sectors as well as use of automation and technology in achieving our purpose.

She was drawn to Brandon Trust for the passion and goodness of the people at Brandon and our values of taking a personal centric approach that recognises the uniqueness of everyone while supporting each individual to achieve their dreams.

Alison joined the Brandon’s Board of Trustees in December 2023. She is a GP by profession and works with NHS England and Health Innovation West of England as a clinical lead. She is also a clinical coordinator with NCEPOD and undertakes studies to improve healthcare provision.

Previous parts of her portfolio career included working in sport, and she was a medical officer for the FA England Disability Teams which deepened her understanding of active inclusion. She was the medical officer at Gloucestershire County Cricket Club for many years.

Alison is co-lead of the South-West Learning Disability Collaborative which aims to improve health outcomes for people with a learning disability. During COVID, the Collaborative worked with healthcare providers, including Brandon Trust, to support families and carers. She has nephew who has a learning disability which is how she first became aware of some of the challenges experienced by people with a learning disability and their families and carers.

Outside work, sport is a recurrent theme as Alison cycles with PROPS and loves Nordic walking. Her other interests include singing in a local choir and spending time with her family.

Ije became a Brandon Trustee in December 2023. She is a Certified Scrum Master and PRINCE2-qualified Programme, Change and Delivery professional, with over 15 years’ experience Consulting and leading delivery in the Oil and Gas, Central Government, NHS/Health, Charity, Finance and Education sectors.

She is a seasoned leader, adept at building and supporting high-performing teams, and a strategic thinker with extensive experience in building relationships and effectively engaging stakeholders.

Ije holds a BSC (hons) degree in Economics along with various professional charterships and certifications.

John became a Brandon Trustee in December 2023.  He has a background in finance, banking, and commercial development prior to moving into the public sector where he held senior roles in the NHS and Local Government pursuing integrated health and social care.  Developing new models of care along with infrastructure and governance systems to sustain them, he has seen how much can be achieved when those closest to delivery are fully included.

In his consultancy role, he works with academic institutions, the NHS and councils, to enable teams to succeed through increasing generative relationships and trust.

His experience across the different sectors reinforces his commitment to encouraging collaboration between partners and teams to achieve even better outcomes for those that are supported and the staff supporting them.  Brandon’s commitment to these values and approaches drew him to the role.

Rachel has worked in the charity sector for over 20 years, specialising in income generation and communications as well as leading volunteer functions. She worked for two health charities before joining the Senior Leadership at RSPCA Bath & District Branch as their Head of Fundraising and Communications, and where she has since held the CEO position since 2020.

Having family members diagnosed with dyslexia and autism, Rachel is committed to Brandon Trust’s aims and our beneficiary led approach.