Who are we?
Biographies of Board Members
Colin Lloyd (Chair)
Colin has vast experience in the fields of advertising, publishing and marketing. In 1970 he founded the KLP Group which, 13 years later, became the first ever company in the promotion-marketing sector to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Following KLP’s acquisition by the French advertising group RSCG, Colin was appointed President – Marketing Services Worldwide and Chair of its UK operations. Colin has held a variety of prestigious positions including Chief Executive of the Direct Marketing Association; first President of the International Federation of Direct Marketing Associations; President of the DMA; Director of the Advertising Standards Board of Finance; Council Member of the Advertising Association; founding Board Member of the Alliance for Electronic Business; and Board Director of the National Newspapers Mail Order Protection Scheme. He is Non-Executive Chair of two AIM-listed companies and a Non-Executive Director of three private companies. Colin was appointed Chair of the Fundraising Standards Board in 2006.
Graham Benfield
Since 1989 Graham has been Chief Executive of Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) – an independent agency which represents, supports and campaigns for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities in Wales. Graham has over 30 years’ experience working with communities in England and Wales, and previously held a senior lectureship at Plymouth Polytechnic. He currently chairs Unlimited and is a member of the Carnegie Commission on Rural Community Development.He is also a trustee of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). As a volunteer, Graham chairs the board of trustees of St. Donats Arts Centre, and in 2003 was awarded an OBE for services to the Welsh voluntary sector. Graham’s position on the board will be rotated every two years with a representative of NCVO.
Stephen Maxwell
Stephen is the Associate Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), where he advises on changes in the public policy environment for voluntary action in Scotland. Previously a university lecturer and researcher, and an elected Councillor in the Lothian region, he has worked in the Scottish voluntary sector for over 25 years. Stephen represented the voluntary sector on the Scottish Executive’s Social Inclusion Network and Community Planning Taskforce. He was also a member of the Public Benefit Working Group advising the Office of the Scottish Charity Registrar on the new Charities (Scotland) Act. A graduate of Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, he is currently a board member of HIV Scotland and Voluntary Health Scotland, and is the founding Chair of the charity Carr-Gomm. Stephen’s position on the board will be rotated every two years with a representative of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA).
Lindsay Boswell
Lindsay has been the Chief Executive of the Institute of Fundraising for the last five years. He has overseen the Institute’s evolution from the Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers to its present identity and role. With 15 years’ experience in the voluntary sector, Lindsay’s work has taken him all over the world. At Raleigh International, he has been the Country Director for Chile, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malaysia and the Director of Operations. Prior to taking over at the Institute, he was the London Director for The Prince’s Trust.
Mick Aldridge
Mick has worked in charity fundraising for over 14 years, initially in telemarketing and then, for the last six years, in face-to-face fundraising. Throughout this time many of his roles have focussed on regulatory compliance. He has been an active member of the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) since its inception in 2000, and took on the role of Chief Executive in May 2006. Mick has also worked directly for various voluntary organisations, in local government and in retail logistics. He is a member of the Institute of Fundraising and a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing.
Lawrie Simanowitz
Lawrie is the representative for the Charity Law Association on the Fundraising Standards Board Board. A solicitor at Bates, Wells & Braithwaite, his areas of expertise include: charity creation and constitutions; restructuring and incorporation; Charity Commission investigations; copyright; fundraising advice and agreements; information law; e-commerce and online fundraising projects. Lawrie has written articles for a variety of publications and co-authored the new Institute of Fundraising Guide to Electronic Fundraising. He speaks at seminars, conferences and in-house training events for charities, covering subjects such as governance, contract law, intellectual property, data protection, fundraising and campaigning. A former management committee member of South Westminster Legal Advice Centre, he is currently Governor and Chair of the finance committee at Rowland Hill Children’s Centre in Haringey. In 2001 Lawrie was Law Society Young Solicitors Pro-Bono Solicitor of the Year.
Peter Vicary-Smith
Peter is Chief Executive of independent consumer adviser Which?. With experience of both the charity and commercial sectors, Peter began his career in marketing roles with Procter and Gamble and Mars Confectionery. After three years as a Management Consultant at McKinseys, he moved on to become Head of Appeals at Oxfam. Since then he has been Commercial Director at Cancer Research UK, with responsibility for all fundraising and marketing activity, and Director of Fundraising and Communications at Imperial Cancer Research Fund. In this latter role, Peter played a major part in the merger with Cancer Research Campaign – the largest merger in voluntary sector history.
John Wenger (Treasurer)
John began his career at an electrical engineering company where he trained to be an accountant. Shortly after he joined Beecham Pharmaceuticals and stayed for 22 years, ending up as Finance Director of its European Division in Brussels. He returned to the UK in 1990 and worked for a biotechnology company and two charities before retiring in January 2004. He is a former Chair of the Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD), and is currently a trustee of three charities. John is a lay board member.
Elaine Stallard
Elaine is a highly experienced and innovative senior executive who specialises in problem-solving at the highest levels. Elaine started out at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors where she became Head of Public Relations and Membership Affairs. In 1987 she set up her own management consultancy, focusing on business, marketing and design solutions for charitable bodies and medical organisations. Her past clients include: The Millennium Commission; The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts; The College of Optometrists; Woolwich plc and The Electoral Commission. Elaine is a Fellow of the Purcell School of Music, a member of Chelsea Arts Club and a former Vice Chair of Getting London Working – a Tomorrow’s People initiative. Elaine is a lay board member.
Richard Crossley
Richard entered the Trading Standards service as a trainee in Hull in 1963. He served in various local authorities in the north of England, becoming Chief Trading Standards Officer for North Tyneside Council. He has extensive experience of both criminal and civil enforcement methods, and the handling and disposal of complaints about goods and services. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1991 and a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee in 2005. Richard has also served on the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Services Authority, and on the Northumbria Regional Flood Protection Committee. Richard is a lay board member.
Roy Thompson
Roy is an IT Consultant, a lay-member of the Employment Tribunals, and an Associate Complaints Investigator for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Previously Roy has been the Chief Officer of a county-wide charity based in Suffolk, where he lives, and has worked for the regional committees of both OFWAT and OFFER. Roy has also spent six years serving as a Non-Executive Director of a local NHS Trust for people with mental health problems and learning difficulties. Roy is a lay board member.
Zoe Willems
After graduating from Oxford University in 1996, Zoe worked for conflict resolution and development charities before joining the Charity Commission. She has had various roles and experiences, from hands-on advice and training of charity trustees, to business planning and team management. As Senior Policy Advisor, specialising in fundraising, philanthropy, trading and social investment, Zoe has advised and lobbied on the contents of the Charities Bill, and developed the framework for the licensing of public charitable collections. She has also worked with the Commission’s international programme, providing advice to delegates from around the world on developing effective regulatory systems. She is now a freelance consultant and writer, specialising in governance and fundraising, and is a trustee of Charity Trustee Networks. Zoe is a lay board member.
Biography of Chief Executive
Jon Scourse
Jon was appointed Chief Executive of the Fundraising Standards Board in February 2006. Jon’s career started in industry as a graduate trainee with Clarks Shoes where he was promoted to senior management, with responsibility for marketing and retailing in particular. This was followed by a spell as a Director of a £30m turnover high quality footwear retail company. In 1993, Jon joined the charity sector and applied his management skills to fundraising. Since then he has worked at a senior management or consultancy level with charities involved with overseas aid, visual impairment, air ambulances and maritime welfare. Jon was also a Trustee at the Institute of Fundraising from 2000 until 2005.