Our Trustees

Ian’s connection to KidsOut is very much a family one – his late father co-founded the charity, his mother was a Trustee for many years, and his brother is a KidsOut Ambassador.

Ian’s background is in corporate financial services where he began his career as an underwriter before going on to lead a pan-European business unit for one of the world’s leading product insurance brands.

Having retired from corporate life in 2016, Ian went on to co-found what has grown to become one of the UK’s leading property development training companies.

Born in 1961 and raised and educated Hull , attended Nottingham University and achieved a BA in Economics. Since starting as a Management Trainee with Northcliffe Newspapers at my home town newspaper in 1984 have spent a career in Media in a variety of Director and Senior Managements roles for the major publishers Associated, DMGT and Reach ( Mirror Group that was) across the UK and Europe, including very exciting time in Budapest when Eastern Europe was undergoing seismic change.

Left the corporate world in 2017 and set up as a consultant and worked for and with many key businesses in the publishing industry – Ti Media, Future, AffinityX, and Archant and founded my own small publishing business Clear Sky Publishing which publishes weekly titles in Devon.

I have been a Trustee/Non Exec for CAST and Devon Communities Together during my time in Devon and remain an active Trustee of Young Devon. I have been Chair of Governors at my children’s school.

Married to Angela with two children Rachel 24 and Robert 22 and very fortunate to live in Glorious Devon. My main interests are sport , history and travel . Still a massive supporter of my home town clubs Hull City and Hull Kingston Rovers and a keen golfer . An avid reader of biographies who loves to travel and explore major cities and places . A big family man who is delighted to be able to become a Trustee of KidsOut a charity that is doing so much for so many disadvantaged children and making a real positive difference to their lives.

Based in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, with 44 years’ work experience, I am the Founding Director of Sentinel Sustainability Limited, a consultancy, providing advice to businesses on how to be more sustainable.

I started my working life as an apprentice in 1980, which was followed by success in a further seventeen roles to date. I have held senior positions in the world of design, manufacturing, Quality, services and customer facing domains and led international integration programs and architected international corporate social responsibility and sustainability programs.

A great passion of mine is the development of community engagement programs and driving Digital Inclusion programs to overcome the digital divide for the underserved.

My community engagement experience has included the following areas:

• Kids Out UK – Fundraising, volunteering, trolley-dash, event-organisation contributor, ‘Eng Kids’ events, Giving Tree, donor and more recently, Member of the Board of Trustees.
• Academy Achievers – Hosting School visits to provide insights to STEM careers for young, underserved women in London, visiting underserved schools to distribute donated laptops.
• Kenilworth Town Council – Elected Councillor in 2023, representing the residents of the Dalehouse Ward of Kenilworth. Chair of the Climate Emergency Working Group, Vice-Chair of the English Heritage Liaison group, Vice-chair of the Finance and General Services committee, member of the Cycling Delivery working group.
• Kenilworth Lions – Volunteering in support of charity fundraising events
• Digital Inclusion – Leadership of the Ciena program to overcome the digital divide for underserved communities internationally
• Ciena Cares – Program leadership spanning, volunteering (in-person and virtual), donations and rewards
• NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Centre – Volunteer marshal, screening, advising and guiding patients through the vaccination process

When not volunteering, I am a keen David Bowie fan, I enjoy blowing my own trumpet, creative art in many forms and cruising the oceans.

Why KidsOut?

One of my first experiences of KidsOut was racing around the Toy Fair at Olympia, precariously balancing all the wonderful toys we had collected from the display stands in a shopping trolley, so that they could bring joy to the thousands of children in refuges supported by Kids Out. I am proud to have supported the charity for many years in lots of different ways, but always with the same aim, to bring smiles to the faces of the children in need.

“KidsOut is a truly incredible charity. They support children going through some of the toughest times imaginable and never discriminate or judge who is more in need but simply strive to support every child they possibly can. It only takes seeing the smile on some of the children’s faces at the National Day Out or to hear how grateful a mother and child were to receive a Toy Box to understand what KidsOut represent.

“I support KidsOut because they are the Fun and Happiness charity—such simple things make such a massive difference.”

Chris has been working for Reed Specialist Recruitment in numerous roles for over a decade. With experience in a wide range of positions, his focus has been on start up businesses, strategy and management development. Sitting on the senior management team for Reed Technology, Chris runs a business unit turning over in excess of £20 million a year. He has experience taking part in many media opportunities including BBC Radio, ITV News and BBC Breakfast, he is also certified in NLP and with the CMI.

Chris was born in London and grew up in Solihull, West Midlands where he still lives with his wife Kate and young daughter Hannah. Chris enjoys spending his spare time with his close friends and family, and occasionally playing the odd round of golf.

John is General Counsel and Company Secretary for Elysium Healthcare, a company which operates over 80 hospitals and care homes providing mental health services for over 2000 people. John leads a team overseeing all legal, governance, risk, health & safety, data protection, internal audit and insurance matters. John trained as a corporate lawyer and worked at international law firms before deciding to move in-house, enabling him to be able to contribute more to the company’s success.

John became involved with KidsOut in 2022. He is passionate about helping the more underprivileged and vulnerable people in our society, particularly children. John is extremely proud of the amazing work which the KidsOut team consistently deliver, helping to improve the lives of thousands of children each and every year.