Trustees
Colin Smith…
…is Chair of the Board of Trustees. Colin has a breadth of experience in the retail sector.
Brothers Colin is currently Chairman of Poundland Group Holdings, Europe’s largest single price discount retailer and a past Chief executive and Finance Director of Safeway Plc, the supermarket retailer. Colin also has previous experience in the not for profit sector as a trustee of Save The Children and as Chairman of the food industry sponsored Red Tractor assurance scheme.
Philip Udeh…
…founded the social enterprise Community Builders, a youth-led social enterprise delivering innovative workshop programmes in schools.
He also consults for national charities offering expertise on youth engagement. Philip is an emerging young entrepreneur who grew up in inner-city London. He was inspired to set up Community Builders after working for three years in Lewisham running the ‘For REAL!’ youth forum for disadvantaged young people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Philip has a degree in Economics from the LSE and his first work experience was as a campaigns officer for Catholic NGO, CAFOD. He was one of the founder young trustees of the V charity.
Paul Armstrong…
…works in private equity and is a Trustee and Investment Committee member of the Social Business Trust, the social enterprise fund.
He supported and advised Speaking Up during their successful merger with Advocacy Partners and worked with the management of the merged entity to facilitate their operational and financial integration and create a long-term strategic plan for the new organisation. Currently Paul is a Principal at Permira, the European private equity firm, which he joined in 2007. Previously Paul worked for 8 years as a lawyer at Ashurst the European law firm, and, subsequently, at Fried Frank a leading Wall St firm. Paul read Politics at the University of Bristol and gained his PGDiP Law at the College of Law London, where he was the Eidos Scholar. Paul is a qualified solicitor.
Stephen Peck…
…is a Director of The Scout Association in the UK.
He has over 30 years experience of working in not for profit organisations focussed on youth development. He has held senior professional positions in YMCA England and Endeavour Training, as well as a range of community based voluntary roles. Stephen has been an advisor to The Challenge since its inception and accepted the role of Trustee in May 2010.
Eleanor Boyer…
…Completed The Challenge in 2010 and is one of two Alumni Trustees on our Board.
She was part of the Media team (better known as “The Magic Numbers”) in the Hammersmith & Fulham wave. During The Challenge, her team produced a promotional video for the Elgin Close Resource Centre and also raised over £800 in aid of Centrepoint. Eleanor has wide experience of voluntary work, having run creative writing courses both in and outside school, as well as having done long-term voluntary work at Nazareth House Home for the Elderly. She is currently at the Godolphin & Latymer School in Hammersmith doing the International Baccalaureate and hopes to study English or Russian at university.
Marcus Martin…
…Completed The Challenge in 2010 and is one of two Alumni Trustees on our Board.
Although sceptical at first, Marcus decided to participate in the challenge in the summer of 2010.He was in the sports team which was famously called the ‘Team with No-Name’, the team delivered a campaign focused on promoting Healthy eating habits to address obesity issues in Southwark. Part of this campaign was an activity day in Dulwich Park, which attracted around 100 people despite competition from a council led festival the same day. He is currently studying his A-levels at Bacon’s College, Rotherhithe. In the future, Marcus aims to go to university however; he is still undecided on his degree course.
Richard Wilson…
… is one of the most recent additions to our Board. Richard has specialist experience in Financial auditing.
Richard is a senior partner with Ernst and Young with significant experience of working with companies ranging from large multinational groups to privately owned companies. He has 25+ years experience of providing assurance and advisory services with clients such as BP, BA and Royal Mail. Richard is also a Treasurer and Trustee of Victim Support, a charity which supports victims of crime.
Dan Guthrie…
… has over 15 years experience in Public Relations and is also one of the newest additions to our Board of Trustees.
Dan has worked in both the UK and Canadian Parliaments and is a director of the public relations firm Luther Pendragon, which he also co-owns. he has worked with a range of multi-national companies and thrid sector organisations to enhance their reputations and deliver positive change. Dan is a graduate of Leeds University.