Read a letter from our trustees

• Chair - Chris Mathias, Chair, CMG partners
  Chris co-founded CMG Partners and Arbor Ventures – both are private investment management companies. Prior to this, Chris successfully founded several companies, most notably Conduit Communications Ltd, an IT consulting firm and service provider. Chris had previously been the CEO of the Harpur Group. Chris is a trustee or board member of several organizations including Digital Links International, Impetus Trust and Charity Technology Trust. He supported the start up of Basic Needs India and he is also an Ambassador for Action Aid and supporter of and advisor to Oxfam GB. More recently he was a founder of the British Asian Trust and has joined the board of Bioss and the advisory board of Barclays Private Bank.
  
  
• Andrew Cubie, Senior Partner, Fyfe Ireland
  Andrew Cubie is a Consultant to Fyfe Ireland LLP. He has been engaged in education issues throughout his professional career, having been Chairman of Governors of George Watson's College and is currently Chairman of the Court of Napier University. He is also the Chairman of the Committee of University Chairmen for the UK and the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework. He is the Chairman of Quality Scotland. He serves as a member of the Management Board of HMIE and is a Commissioner of the Northern Lighthouse Board. He is also Chairman in Scotland of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, British
  Council, The Centre for Healthy Working Lives and Scotland's Garden
  Trust. He is a trustee of VSO.
  
  
• Jude Kelly, OBE
  Jude Kelly is the Artistic Director of Britain’s largest cultural institution, Southbank Centre.
  
  She founded Solent People's Theatre and later Battersea Arts Centre. In 1985, she joined the York Festival as Artistic Director and then the Royal Shakespeare Company, before becoming the founding director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. As Artistic Director and then CEO of the country’s largest regional theatre, she established the West Yorkshire Playhouse as an acknowledged centre of excellence on a local, national and international scale, developing an ever-expanding policy of access for all. In 1997, she was awarded the OBE for her services to the theatre.
  
  Jude left the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2002 to found Metal, artistic laboratory spaces in London and Liverpool. Metal provides a platform where creative hunches and ideas can be pursued. It also involves cross-art collaborations and developing strategic projects to affect the built environment, people, communities and philosophies. Recent clients include Arsenal Regeneration, the London Clinic, Unilever, the Eden Project, Riverside Housing and Islington Council.
  
  Amongst her many successes as a director, Jude’s production of Singin’ in the Rain transferred twice to the Royal National Theatre and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production in 2001. She directed Sir Ian McKellen in The Seagull and The Tempest, Patrick Stewart in Johnson over Jordon and Othello, Dawn French in When We Are Married and the English National Opera in The Elixir of Love (Southbank Award - Newcomer Opera) On the Town, which was the ENO’s most successful production to date and was revived in 2007 at the London Coliseum and in 2008 at Théâtre du Châtelet, Carmen Jones, and recently the Wizard of Oz at the refurbished Royal Festival Hall.
  
  Jude has represented Britain within UNESCO on cultural matters, served on the Arts Advisory Committee for the Royal Society of Arts and jointly chaired with Lord Puttnam the Curricula Advisory Committee on Arts and Creativity. She is chair of Metal, a board member of the British Council, member of the London Cultural Consortium and Visiting Professor at Kingston University and Leeds University. As Chair of Culture, Ceremonies, and Education at London 2012, Jude was responsible for developing the culture, arts and education strands of London’s successful bid for the Olympics. She continues this role at LOCOG.
  
  
• Philip Wright, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
  Philip is responsible for some of the firm’s major advisory clients, Diageo, HMRC and DwP, BBC and UBM. This involves aligning our service offerings with the strategic and operational issues of senior management at these clients as well as taking overall responsibility for the quality of our work. Also responsible for our services to non-executive directors and for co-ordinating the initiatives and activities of the firm within the Boardroom.
  
  From 1997 to 2003, Philip was first European then Global Leader for Corporate Finance & Recovery (comprising Corporate Finance, Dispute Analysis & Investigations, Infrastructure, Government and Utilities, Valuation and Strategy and Business Recovery Services) with turnover of US$1.1 billion, 580 partners and 5,500 staff.
  
  Philip has a strong background in corporate finance, privatisation, shareholder value and in the telecoms and energy sectors. He has worked extensively in many countries, including Japan, Australia, Hungary and Germany, where he lived and led the CFR business for four years from 1990 to 1994. He is also the author of a book “In Search of Shareholder Value”.
  
  
• Richard Charkin, Executive Director, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc  
  Richard is responsible for Bloomsbury’s publishing activities in the UK, USA and Germany (through Berlin Verlag). He has held senior positions at Macmillan (CEO worldwide), part of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck (Director), Current Science Group (CEO), Reed Elsevier (CEO Reed International Books) and Oxford University Press (Managing Director Academic and General Divisions).
  
  He is a non-executive director of the Institute of Physics Publishing, Council member and former President of the Publishers Association, Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts London and a member of the Strategy Advisory Board of the British Library, the Institute of English Studies Advisory Board and the UK’s Literary Heritage Group. He is formerly Chair of the Trustees of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Chair of the Society of Bookmen, Chairman of xrefer.com and a director of the Centre for Creative Business at the London Business School and non-executive director of Melbourne University Publishing. He is a former Chairman of Common Purpose UK.
  
  He has an MA in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge, was a Supernumerary Fellow of Green College, Oxford and attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
  
  
• Bishop John Inge
  Bishop John Inge attended Kent College in Canterbury after which he undertook a BSc in Chemistry at St. Chads College, Durham. After completing a PGCE at Keble College, Oxford, Bishop John taught Chemistry at Lancing College in Sussex before ordination. He studied for ordination at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire.
  
  Bishop John’s first appointments were as a chaplain at Lancing College and then Harrow School, where he also continued teaching both chemistry and religious studies. He then spent several years as vicar of an inner-city parish in Wallsend on Tyneside. During this time he was also very involved in social responsibility throughout the area. He moved to the Diocese of Ely in 1996 to be Canon Missioner at Ely Cathedral. Here he had responsibility for education as well as mission, becoming Vice Dean of the Cathedral in 1999. He was appointed Bishop of Huntingdon in 2003.
  
  Bishop John is fascinated by international affairs and cultural variety and has taken groups to Africa (on seven occasions), India, South America, Russia and the Holy Land. He has also fostered Indian and African links. He is a longstanding member of the World Development Movement and Amnesty International.
  
  His book A Christian Theology of Place (Ashgate, 2003) was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing. His latest book Living Love: In Conversation with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Inspire, 2007) reflects on Alexander McCall Smith’s very popular novels about Africa.
  
  Bishop John was enthroned as the 113th Bishop of Worcester in March 2008.
  
  
• Peter Kulloi
  
  
• Mark Linder
  Mark works for WPP, leading cross-company teams that are focused on certain clients. He is currently focusing on Nokia, Ernst & Young, and working on client strategic planning issues through Sans Frontières, a geo-political unit of Chime (a mini-WPP, in which WPP has an investment). Mark leads the collective teams across 10 or more other WPP companies that serve those clients globally. Mark’s non-agency background includes disciplines from general advertising to direct marketing to the internet. Previously, he was the first ever chief marketing officer for KPMG (“The Global Leader”), the global accounting and consulting firm. He was founding Vice President-Marketing for Mainspring, created as a web-based independent knowledge source for corporate builders of internet/intranet applications. Mark came to London after leading Ogilvy’s Detroit office. Mark and family live in London.
  
  
• Miriam Mulcahy, Independent Media Consultant
  
  
• Kuben Naidoo
  
  
• Diana Parker
  
  
• Anu Omideyi, Barrister, Furnival Chambers
  
  
• David Bell, Director for People, Pearson Plc
  
  
• Mark Adams, Netcare Healthcare
  Mark has worked in the healthcare for 25 years. Before joining Virgin Healthcare in 2007, he spent two years as Chief Executive of Netcare Healthcare UK. Prior to that he advised Pru Health on market entry as a senior NED. Corporate Services Group, PPP Healthcare, Medacs & Blue Arrow and Denplan are just some of the blue chip businesses he has worked for in executive roles.
  
  
• James Ramsbotham, Chief Executive, NE Chamber of Commerce
  James is Chief Executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce. Previously he was Vice Chairman of the Esh Group – the award winning North East construction group. Prior to that he spent 14 years in Barclays Bank plc (throughout the UK) and, before that, he had 12 years soldiering in the Royal Green Jackets (throughout the world). He is a Deputy Lieutenant for Co. Durham, a non-exec director of Darlington Building Society, Chairman of the LSC in Co. Durham and also gives time to Newcastle University, Durham Cathedral, Auckland Castle, County Durham Development Company, Sunderland AFC Foundation, Tyneside Cyrenians, St John’s Ambulance and the Gillian Dickinson Trust.
  
  
• Kieran McPolin, Financial Controller, Openreach
  
  
• Lucy de Groot, Executive Director, Improvement & Development Agency
  
  
• Vincent McGinlay, Retired Director of Supply Chain and Technology, Marks & Spencer plc
  Vince spent most of his career at Marks and Spencer. He worked
  in the Clothing buying groups till the mid 80's, spent a couple of years as PA to the then Chief Executive Sir Richard Greenbury in the late 80's, ran Brooks Brothers based in the USA for four years in the early 90's and returned to lead the M&S Menswear Division in the late 90's. Vince is currently Non-Exec Chairman of DCK, a fashion jewellery business, a Non-Exec Director of Sofa Brands International, and Chairman of Winston's, an internet jewellery business. Previously he was a non-Executive Director of Lamont Holdings plc.
  
  
• Pam Chesters, Chair, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
  Pam spent nearly twenty years with British Petroleum, latterly as Chief Executive of Duckhams Oils. She served on Camden Council for ten years as an elected member. She has chaired the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust since 2001. She also chairs English Churches Housing Group (a registered social landlord specialising in supported and sheltered housing), and is Chair of NCH, the children's charity.
  
  
• Olu Olanrewaju, Managing Director, Urban/Focus Heart Ltd
  Olu Olanrewaju is the Managing Director of Midland Heart (Birmingham). Previously he was the Managing Director of Midland Area Housing Association, part of the Keynote Housing Group. Prior to that, he was the Chief Executive of United Housing Association and before that Development Director of Presentation Housing Association. He is the Vice Chair of East Thames Housing Group and governor of St Michael’s Primary School in Handsworth. He is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
  
  

Why did they become Common Purpose trustees?

"Leaders need to be dynamic, to be able to lead and connect a diverse range of networks, on many different levels and spheres. Common Purpose helps them do this. The organisation is growing internationally rapidly, which means I am taking up this role at a very interesting time."
- Chris Mathias

“I became a trustee of Common Purpose following my experience as a participant in the Matrix programme. This gave me a unique and very valuable insight into some of the issues facing the people who lived in my city. I believe that Common Purpose promotes healthy and constructive debate, bringing people together to explore differences and to respect diverse views. It is a learning organisation which opens the minds of the participants in its programmes to the complexity and variety of life in our society.” - Kieran McPolin

“I am a trustee of Common Purpose because I passionately share its objectives of developing emerging leaders to lead beyond their boundaries. The embedded approach to encourage leaders from different backgrounds to address shared challenges is exemplary and a model for other institutions to follow. I am inspired by Common Purpose's civic contribution to the betterment of life in the UK.” - Olu Olanrewaju

“I first got involved in the mid-nineties because I supported the Common Purpose aspiration: 'to create positive change in society'. As a trustee I have been able to play a (small) part in the evolution and growth of an organisation dedicated to delivering that aspiration, and seen at first hand how the programmes inspire leaders from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds to make a positive difference in their jobs and communities. For me, Common Purpose epitomises an organisation which is a force for good within a democratic society.” - Vincent McGinlay