Former air ambulance chief goes into consultancy

Governance | Tania Mason | 12 May 2010

David Philpott, the former London Air Ambulance chief who was sacked after he raised concerns with the trustee board about the charity’s solvency and began investigating complaints against some board members, has set himself up as a consultant.

He has also joined the board of the Institute of Directors in Kent as chairman.

David Philpott and Associates offers “strategic solutions and interim management” in the fields of fundraising, governance, media and marketing, compliance and business.

According to the consultancy website, Philpott’s “team of associates” – not full-time employees but freelancers - come from a range of disciplines and specialities and are “people that David Philpott has enjoyed working with over many years and who share his values”. He labels them "good eggs" - as pictured on the website - "because life is too short to work with people you don't like".

He had already been retained by four air ambulance charities, a volunteering organisation and the Kent Children’s Fund Network. He has been hired by the Network for three months to help raise its profile locally and develop a supporter base.

Philpott was dismissed from the London Air Ambulance charity last November after 12 weeks in the job, following a run-in with the chair and some trustees. He lodged an appeal against his dismissal at the time but this now looks unlikely to proceed. While the final outcome of the dispute is subject to a confidentiality agreement, Philpott told Civil Society he “decided in the end to turn my back on it and focus on the future”.

The Charity Commission looked into the situation and provided some guidance to the trustees about certain financial and governance issues, but made no judgement about whether they were correct to dismiss Philpott from his post, claiming that was a matter for the trustees.

Directory: Charity Commission

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