Charity sector leaders named in global LGBT+ role models list

26 Oct 2018 News

Antonio Zappulla, chief operating officer of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has been named as the number one LGBT+ senior executive in the charity and public sector in a list published yesterday. 

The LGBT+ Role Models 2018 lists were published yesterday afternoon by membership group Outstanding, in conjunction with the Financial Times. The 30 LGBT+ public sector executives 2018 list features seven individuals working in the UK charity sector. 

Antonio Zappulla, chief operating officer of the London-based charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, was named as the number one LGBT+ senior executive working globally in the public sector.

Lee Marshall, co-founder and first treasurer of Stonewall, was listed at number five. He is currently chief of staff at the Church of England Pensions Board and is the chair of The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, an anti-bullying charity.  

Carole Anderson, head of strategy and performance at hospital charity Golden Jubilee Foundation was listed at number seven. Along with her work at the foundation, she helped organise the “largest ever group of NHS staff” to march in the Pride Glasgow 2018 parade. 

Tony Lloyd, chief executive of the Liverpool-based ADHD Foundation, was number 11. He has also worked as a consultant with Merseyside police on recruitment of LGBT+ officers, and has supported local HIV charity Sahir House for more than 20 years. 

Gemma Bull, funding strategy director at the Big Lottery Fund, was named 22nd; Ian Green, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, was 24th and Polly Shute, executive fundraising director at Together for Short Lives, was in 27th. 

The lists “celebrate the work being done by LGBT+ and ally leaders across the globe in both the private and public sectors”. They feature people from over 20 countries, working in 40 different sectors. 

This is the first time the public sector list has been expanded out to include 30 people. It was previously a top 20 list. 

The sixth annual Outstanding lists also cover the top 100 LGBT+ corporate executives; 50 ally executives and 50 LGBT+ future leaders.

Zappulla said: “I have been asked a few times about the need for such a list: ‘Does an LGBT+ ranking really matter?’ The answer is that, yes, it does matter, and here’s why. I grew up with no LGBT+ role models. I remember fearing the implications coming out might have on my career. This fear is still very much prevalent among young professionals. 

“The Outstanding list is a significant step in the right direction towards encouraging widespread acceptance and inclusion. Last year, after being featured, I received hundreds of messages from people in Italy – the country where I was born – emphasising the positive impact my appearance on the list had had on them. It is for precisely this reason that lists such as this one matter.”

The full top 30 LGBT+ public sector list can be read here. The other lists can be read here. 

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