Esmée Fairbairn Foundation CEO departs
After 13 years as chief executive, Caroline Mason will be leaving the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation in early 2027.
As CEO, Caroline broadened Esmée’s remit beyond the traditional charity sector to work collaboratively with others including regulators, investors, and academics while retaining its focus on providing long-term, unrestricted grants.
During her tenure, Esmée’s social investment fund has risen from £26m to £60m, with the charity now focused on aligning its investments with its mission.
Mason said: “Throughout the last 13 years I have tried hard to balance the potential that exists in Esmée with its wonderful unique qualities of a trust based, low ego culture.
“I want to thank the trustees and the amazing team of people that I have worked with for their faith and support along the way. It has been the privilege of my career to be CEO at Esmée.”
The foundation said it would share recruitment details in the coming weeks for its next CEO.
VoiceAbility appoints CEO
National advocacy charity VoiceAbility has appointed Kathryn Llewellyn as its new chief executive.
Llewellyn joins the charity with more than two decades of senior leadership experience spanning safeguarding, organisational transformation and advancing the rights of people facing inequality and exclusion.
“I am deeply honoured to be joining VoiceAbility and to be working alongside an organisation with such a proud history of championing rights, dignity and voice,” she said.
YMCA Derbyshire appoints CEO
Matt Jones, who is the group chief executive of YMCA Thames Gateway Group, will take over as CEO of YMCA Derbyshire in November, when the charity’s current CEO, Gillian Sewell, steps down.
He has led YMCA Thames Gateway Group for the past two years, overseeing its operations across several London boroughs.
“YMCA Derbyshire is a role model for the rest of the federation because it has grown its provision to meet young people’s more complex needs, well beyond putting a roof over their heads,” he said.
“That’s down to what Gillian and her team have built over the years in Derbyshire, and I’m very excited about taking over and continuing that work.”
Donkey Sanctuary CEO departs
The Donkey Sanctuary’s chief executive, Marianne Steele, has stepped down after four years at the helm.
Steele joined the charity in 2010 to lead its efforts to grow and diversify income before becoming permanent CEO in 2022.
She said being CEO had been “one of the greatest privileges of my life” but decided to step down “after a number of losses and illnesses within my family over recent months”.
“It’s a wonderful job, but it’s also a big job, and after over 16 years with the charity, the time has come for me to consider a different path – and pace – while my family is still young and at home,” she said.
Faith Burden, currently deputy CEO and executive director of equine operations, will take on the role of interim CEO with immediate effect.
Further details on longer-term leadership arrangements will follow in due course, the charity said.
Cyrenians appoints CEO
Scottish homelessness prevention charity Cyrenians has appointed Kate Wallace as its chief executive.
Wallace previously held senior positions at Victim Support Scotland and Barnardo’s and will oversee Cyrenians’ 47 services in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Falkirk and nationally.
“At a time when too many people are being pushed into crisis, I want to build on Cyrenians’ strong foundations and work alongside staff, volunteers, partners and the people we support to drive lasting systemic change,” she said.
She succeeds Ewan Aitken, who led Cyrenians for 12 years.
Safe Haven for Donkeys appoints CEO
Niall Duffy will join Safe Haven for Donkeys, which supports working and abandoned donkeys across Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Egypt, as its new chief executive on 5 October.
He previously held roles at the Donkey Sanctuary, RSPCA, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, Flybe, Qatar Airways and local government.
Duffy paid tribute to Andy Foxcroft, current CEO of the Haywards Heath-based charity, with whom he will work until his retirement at the end of the year.
“Following in his footsteps is an honour,” said Duffy.
City Bridge Foundation appoints managing director
City Bridge Foundation has appointed Simon Latham as its permanent managing director, following a competitive recruitment process.
Latham has been acting managing director for the past two years, having previously been chief operating officer, and will continue to oversee the foundation’s work as a charitable funder and the owner and manager of Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars bridges.
“I look forward to continuing to work with our talented colleagues, our board, our trustee the City of London Corporation, and our many partners as we build on our strong foundations,” he said.
New people and culture lead at Macmillan
Tiger de Souza has joined Macmillan Cancer Support as chief people and culture officer.
Awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to volunteering, de Souza joins from Samaritans where he was executive director of people and culture.
Before that, he spent five years as people engagement director at the National Trust.
“I’m joining at a moment when the people and culture agenda really matters and I’m looking forward to working with colleagues across the organisation to make Macmillan a great place to work, and through that, to do even more for people with cancer,” de Souza said.
His appointment at Macmillan follows the departure of Francesca Okosi, who left the organisation in March.
Ben welcomes two senior leaders
Automotive industry charity Ben has appointed Luke Genevrier-Mallett as director of fundraising and engagement and Chris Easton as director of charitable impact.
Genevrier-Mallett has held leadership roles at charities including Save the Children, the British Heart Foundation and Young Lives vs Cancer, as well as serving as CEO of a regional health charity.
More recently, he has worked internationally as a consultant and interim executive, supporting charities across the UK, Europe, the US and Africa to deliver growth, transformation and organisational change.
Easton previously served as head of person-centred care at NHS England. He was most recently director of strategy and impact at NHS Charities Together.
Music Venue Trust appoints head of external affairs
Music Venue Trust has appointed Chris Hurne as its head of external affairs.
Hurne spent more than eight years working across the government’s creative industries portfolio, most recently at the Department for Business and Trade, supporting investment, trade and growth initiatives.
“I’m delighted to be joining Music Venue Trust at such an important time for grassroots music venues, which is where artists begin their journeys, audiences discover new music, and communities come together,” he said.
Next chair of Teenage Cancer Trust named
Teenage Cancer Trust has appointed Andy Ransom as a trustee and its chair designate.
Ransom will become the charity’s next chair when our Paul Spanswick reaches the end of his tenure in summer 2027.
Having run one of the world’s largest business services companies, Rentokil Initial, Ransom is also former vice-chair of youth employment charity Street League and patron of Malaria No More.
Ransom said: “I’m looking forward to learning from Paul, our brilliant chief executive Jules Worrall and the rest of the team in the months ahead.”
Greenpeace UK appoints chair
Greenpeace UK has appointed Kathryn Tomlinson as the new chair of its board of directors.
Tomlinson is the deputy secretary general at Amnesty International and previously held posts at International Alert and Conciliation Resources and spent six years as Asia regional director for BBC Media Action.
“I’m looking forward to putting my expertise at Greenpeace UK’s service,” she said. “Boards play a crucial role in providing the right structure and backing that allow a campaign group to aim high and take risks.”
Tomlinson is taking over as chair from Andrew McParland, whose eight-year term at the head of the board ended earlier this year.
RNIB appoints five trustees
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has appointed five trustees.
The five new trustees are: Andrew McCracken, director of external affairs at Asthma + Lung UK; finance professional Graham Colbert; HR professional Barry Hoffman; Nigel Fletcher, Motability Foundation CEO; and risk and finance professional Zayna Ali.
Anna Tylor, RNIB’s chair, said: “These new appointments bring a wealth of experience across a wide variety of specialisms to the board.”
Following these appointments, and the end of terms for four of RNIB’s existing trustees in September 2026, the charity will have 10 trustees – 50% of whom have lived experience of sight loss.
Services For Education trustee retires
The former chair of Birmingham charity Services For Education, Sarah Smith, has retired from being a trustee of the charity after more than 11 years.
Smith became a trustee in March 2015 and served as chair from 2021 to 2024.
She was awarded an MBE in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for her Services to Education.
“I have worked alongside exceptional trustees, leaders and staff and leave with great confidence in the future of the organisation and all that it will continue to achieve for children, young people and schools across Birmingham and beyond,” she said.
RCN Foundation welcomes patron
Nursing charity the RCN Foundation has appointed Michael West as a patron of the charity.
West is a professor of work and organisational psychology at Lancaster University as well as a visiting professor at University College, Dublin, and emeritus professor at Aston University.
“I look forward to working alongside the foundation to help influence change and ensure leaders model the compassion that is at the heart of healthcare,” he said.
