The Halo Trust's chief executive, James Cowan, explains why the charity made payments to trustees and says this was not why Angelina Jolie resigned from the board.
When I served in Afghanistan, 64 of my soldiers died, 30 of them from IEDs. They are an evil reality of war and they kill thousands every year. For the last quarter of a century, The Halo Trust has worked to clear landmines and, in doing so, enabled countless men, women and children on four continents to return to their homes without fear of death or injury from landmines or any other deadly debris of war.
Organisational review
In the last 12 months alone we have made 8,836 hectares (21,832 acres) safe from landmines and unexploded ordnance. The global threat from landmines is receding but it is by no means eliminated. We will continue to play our part in achieving a mine-free world by 2025 but we will also extend our work into new areas, all focused on saving lives.
We are developing pioneering new techniques to reduce the casualties caused by unexploded ordnance and to counter the growing threat posed to civilians by badly secured, ageing and unstable ammunition. We are working with governments and communities to manage or destroy weapons.
This broader focus represents the next chapter in The Halo Trust story. In recent months we have taken the steps needed to ensure that we can meet those challenges with confidence. We have conducted an organisational review and taken initiatives to strengthen our internal processes, underlining our commitment to become even more efficient and effective, ensuring that we continue to attract and retain the highest quality staff, and to allow us to build a solid foundation for future growth.
Recent attention has focused on our governance and payments to trustees. The Halo Trust has been through a period of substantial change in the last year, following the resignation of the former chief executive. Until I assumed the role of chief executive, Halo’s work was brilliantly led by executive trustee Simon Conway and chair, Amanda Pullinger. They stepped in at very little notice and the decision was rightly taken, and approved by the Charity Commission and the board, to ensure that they were paid accordingly.
It is worth noting that Amanda Pullinger only became chair of The Halo Trust board on 1 May 2014. She acted quickly; Guy Willoughby was informed of his suspension on 2nd July and the board quickly reached agreement on the need to review Halo’s governance. Amanda was paid for conducting the governance review but no payments were made to her after the review ended in October 2014, when she reverted to being an unpaid trustee.
During his tenure as an executive trustee, Simon Conway visited minefields and battle areas in Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Palestine, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Nagorno Karabakh and Colombia. Immediately after his appointment, six of our staff died in a Taliban ambush – he had the skills and experience to deal with the consequences with compassion, leadership and clarity of thought. This, I think, is a useful illustration of the skills and experience required.
Failure to have appointed an executive trustee to run Halo on an interim basis would clearly have been negligent, so paying Simon Conway for undertaking a full-time role was appropriate. Indeed, we currently pay our regional directors between £100,000 - £110,000 a year – a sum entirely commensurate with the responsibilities and risks involved.
'Jolie's departure likely to be linked to payment of school fees'
And finally to Angelina Jolie. As a global organisation we are lucky enough to have the support of individuals around the world. They recognise, support and champion the life-saving work that The Halo Trust has been carrying out across four continents for the last quarter of a century. Some of these individuals, such as Angelina Jolie, are high profile, the demands on their time are significant.
Ms Jolie stood down as a trustee of Halo in May of last year but she remains a supporter of The Halo Trust and our mission to rid the world of landmines. It should be noted that the article in The Times is not quoting Jolie directly but rather an unnamed source. Ms Jolie did not give specific reasons for stepping down but we believe her decision to be linked to the issue of school fees, which has since been addressed.
The Halo Trust is a global organisation that employs 6,500 people. Like any large organisation it requires effective leadership at all times. Amanda and Simon led Halo through a particularly difficult time. The organisation that I joined as chief executive in July was a better governed, more focused outfit as a consequence of their hard work and commitment and a slight increase in governance costs was, in the view of the board, worth every penny. In the last twelve months turnover has risen, we have the confidence of our donors and crucially our work continues to save lives. I am proud to be part of the Halo Trust team.
Major General James Cowan (pictured) was appointed chief executive of The Halo Trust in July 2015
