Meet the team

We are proud to have a team of people across the UK who work tirelessly to help young people facing disadvantage access careers equal to their ability and ambition.

Find contact information for our team members by hovering or clicking on their images, or go to our Contact Us page.

Shamaine Armstrong

Director of Programmes
📍 Manchester

Adella Brown

Employment Manager
📍 Birmingham

Jacquii Dube

Programme Manager (Contact Centre)
📍 Bolton

Teddy Karter

Careers Development Manager
📍 London

Chris Oliver

Head of Programmes
📍 Liverpool

Marie Rodriguez

Finance Administrator

Nic Skipwith

Director of Income Generation
📍 Birmingham

Jenny Venning

Head of Fundraising & Development
📍 South West England

Debs Barlow

Director of Development & Opportunities
📍London

Rob Burton

Chief Executive
📍 London

Zaid Gittens

Careers Development Manager
📍 London

Khalil Kennou

Careers Development Manager
📍 London

Charlotte Porter

Programme Manager
📍 Midlands

Dani Saunders

Communications Coordinator
📍 Birmingham

Steph Stevens

Finance Director
📍 North West England

Pete Ward

Deputy CEO & Programmes & Impact Director
📍Birmingham

Germaine Bowen-Smith

Careers Development Manager
📍 Birmingham

Danya Defraytus

Programme Manager (Business)
📍 Birmingham

Catherine Gurner

Head of Business Development
📍 London

Ciaran McGugan

Careers Development Manager
📍 Greenock

Anais Randles

Fundraising Apprentice
📍 Liverpool

Lorna Shields

Careers Development Manager
📍 Liverpool

Steph Tickle

Head of Employment (North West)
📍Liverpool

Cat Wyard

Communications Manager
📍 London

Click on the names of our Trustees to view their bios.

Lorraine Barclay

Lorraine Barclay (Treasurer)

Lorraine has been a passionate supporter of LTSB since its inception, hiring more than 50 young people over several years, introducing key supporters as well as participating in events and inspiring young people to fulfil their potential. She became a Trustee in 2015 and also serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. Lorraine currently works for the Bank of England, joining as Head of Finance Transformation in 2021. Prior to this, Lorraine spent her career in financial services working for Citibank, Pearl Assurance and ICAP. Lorraine joined ICAP in 2006 through acquisition of EBS taking the position of Global CFO for IT and subsequently held the positions of Group Financial Controller from 2010-12 and Group Tax Director from 2008-10. From November 2012 Lorraine headed up ICAP’s Global Business Services, covering the operations of finance and all other corporate functions. She was a member of ICAP’s Group Operating and Finance Committees. Lorraine was integral to the sale of the voice broking side of ICAP’s business to Tullett Prebon and it is a tribute to her dedication and ability that not only was she responsible for the separation of the voice broking business, she was also chosen to work on the integration into Tullett Prebon.

Jeff Hayes OBE

Jeff Hayes OBE (Chair)

Jeff had a fulfilling 40-year career in the City of London before retiring in January 2010 and taking up a number of Trustee/Co-opted roles within the voluntary sector. In the City he was a dealer on the London Stock Exchange and handled Investment portfolios on behalf of a range of UK and Global clients, including Charities, Pension Funds and Friendly Societies.

Jeff has a number of external appointments. He is a Trustee at the West Ham United Foundation, a Trustee at St Johns Foundation in Bath, and a co-opted member of the Financial Fairness Trust Finance & Risk Committee.

Jeff was appointed Chair of LTSB in April 2023, having stepped as Chair of the Trust for London after serving as a Trustee and Chair for 13 years.

Ruth Poulten

Ruth Poulten

Ruth is a Social Impact and ESG leader with significant communications experience and has achieved responsible business goals in financial services and the charity sector.

Ruth currently oversees large scale community investment programmes across the UK and Europe for RSA Insurance, with a focus on economic resilience.

A proud Brummie and keen sportswoman, her career began as a local radio journalist in the North West before she went on to lead global teams at Sky News and Sky Sports producing international news programmes.

Ruth has also managed multi-stakeholder projects in some of the most deprived areas of England in senior PR and Marketing roles at Gateshead Council and Business in the Community, a network supported by His Majesty The King.

Ruth is passionate about giving back to the community on a personal level and harnessing business as a force for good in her professional capacity. Inspired by her upbringing, volunteering is part of Ruth’s DNA and she’s served on many local community groups supporting young people over the years.

Ruth is also a member of RSA’s DEI Council and co-Chair’s Balance, RSA’s gender equality committee.

Gary Duggan

Gary Duggan

Gary has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services and insurance industry, running large scale businesses in the UK, Asia and the Middle East. Gary is currently Chief Insurance Officer at Tesco Bank, CEO and board member of Tesco Underwriting. Previously Gary was CEO of Saga Services leading the Insurance and personal finance businesses. Gary joined Saga from BGL where he was Managing Director of Junction (part of BGL), the UK’s largest GI Partnership business including brands such as LBG, RAC, Post office, M&S Bank etc.

Prior to that Gary was CEO of Broker Network and Paymentshield at Towergate, who he joined after 20+ years working in the banking sector for Barclays, GE and HBOS.

Gary is also Non-Executive Director of Realty Insurances Ltd, a specialised insurance broker offering customised insurance solutions for real estate owners, property developers and private clients.

Victoria Kirkhope

Victoria Kirkhope

Victoria is an experienced HR executive based in Glasgow. She has spent most of her career in HR and worked for RSM UK for 20 years where she was a Partner and Head of People/Chief People Officer. She knows LTSB well through a long-standing relationship between the charity and RSM, and joins as Trustee in June 2024.

Patrick Thornton-Smith

Patrick Thornton-Smith

Patrick Thornton-Smith has over 30-years’ experience in global financial markets specialising in derivatives and fintech and for the last 8 has moved into the fine wine market. Patrick is CEO of PTS Wines Limited, an advisory and consultancy firm and is a Strategic Advisor to Savea-a new vin/fintech platform.  Prior to this he was Chief Customer Experience Officer  at Cult Wines. Before Cult Wines, Patrick served as Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer at Duco, a leading data automation company. Throughout his career, he has held roles covering strategy, marketing, sales, operations and senior management positions based in the UK and the USA. He’s also worked for Barclays Capital, ICAP and a range of fintech firms from his own start-up to established vendors around the world. Patrick joined LTSB’s board of Trustees in 2019 and is a passionate advocate of our work.

Darren Gurner

Darren Gurner

Darren Gurner currently works as Forest Products Strategist at Gunvor Group Ltd. Darren learned about LTSB while he was Associate Director for Macquarie Bank in London where he ran the European Pulp and Paper derivatives business. Prior to this, Darren spent eight years working at Tradition in both the pulp and environmental markets as an inter-dealer broker and has been a long-time supporter of David Pinchin’s vision for the charity. As well as being an avid Spurs fan, North London born and bred, he spent his university years in Liverpool and has a great affection for the city and its people. He is also a supporter and fundraiser for a very special cancer charity ‘No Surrender’ which was set up by a good friend after they had been diagnosed with cancer. Darren has been a Trustee of LTSB since its earliest days, and regularly attends a range of events, networking with our young people and supporting the charity’s fundraisers.

Bharat Mehta CBE

Bharat Mehta CBE

Bharat was Chief Executive at Trust for London, one of the largest grant making agencies in the capital until October 2021.

Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (NSF, renamed RETHINK). He has also worked for the Medical Research Council; the National Council for Voluntary Organisations; and the Social Services Department of the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
He has served on the boards of a number of organisations including: Home Group, one of the largest registered social landlords in the country; the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; as non-executive director of the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust; and as chair of governors of Bowes Primary School. He has also served on numerous government and civil society commissions and advisory groups. Bharat is currently a board member of the Park Theatre; and of the Global Fund for Community Foundations. He is a member of the Living Wage Commission.

Motivated by his own background and learning from his personal experiences, Bharathas a long-standing commitment to the inclusion of young people – from his involvement as Chair of a youth and community organisation in North London in his early years in the UK, to more recently, encouraging the Trust for London to commit to a ten year funding programme to enable disadvantaged young men to find and secure sustainable jobs.

Bharat joins the Board of LTSB in June 2024 and is looking forward to contributing to its work to secure employment for disadvantaged young people through sports and business.

[In January 2000, he was appointed OBE for services to NSF. In the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours in June 2016, he was appointed CBE for services to Finance in the Charitable and Voluntary Sectors].

Wincie Wong

Wincie Wong

Wincie Wong uses her background at the leading edge of creative and disruptive innovation in the banking industry
to break down barriers and transform the shape and diversity of the tech and data workforce. An international
speaker and a digital evangelist, she is passionate about spearheading the growth of a diverse technology workforce
as co-founder of the NatWest Girls Can Code network and founding member of Tech She Can, a charity representing
250+ corporates working together to increase the number of women in technology roles in the UK through
education. She is also co-host of the NatWest Technically Speaking podcast series discussing current topics in the
evolving world of tech. She has a background working with the UK government to tap into the huge unrealised
economic potential of female entrepreneurs by making the UK one of the best countries in the world for women to
start and grow a new business as recommended in the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship. A serial
entrepreneur herself, she has been featured in Season 2 of BBC’s My Million Pound Menu with host Fred Siriex for
her business running Burmese supper clubs – now available on Netflix globally. In 2023, she was named Woman of
the Year at the Women in IT Awards, Standout 45 for the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist, and was
named one of the Top 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in UK Tech by Inclusive Boards & the Financial Times in
2019. Having grown up in New York City, she’s spent the last 15+ years across the pond in London where she is
passionate about making innovation useful for customers.

Click on the names of our Patrons to view their bios.

Dr Joanna Abeyie

Dr Joanna Abeyie MBE

Joanna joined LTSB as Patron after serving as Trustee in 2022, following years of supporting the charity which began with chairing our Women in Leadership event in 2019. She has spent the last 14 years increasing the employment of diverse talent through inclusive hiring practices, and by creating inclusive working cultures. In 2006, at aged 18, she launched her first charity, Elevation Networks, alongside six colleagues. In 2008, she started her own social enterprise, Shine Media, which saw her place over 3,000 people from diverse backgrounds into work within creative industries. Joanna’s latest enterprise is founding Blue Moon, a flagship inclusive executive search business and Diversity and Inclusion consultancy practice. Alongside executive search success, she has an impressive track record leading businesses through culture transformation, unique recruitment processes, and challenging bias top-down and bottom-up. This work, coupled with her personal story, led to her 2018 TEDx Talk on Social Mobility. Joanna was awarded her Freedom of the City in 2018 and became the first black female to become a Liverywoman for The Haberdasher’s Company. In 2019, the University of Reading awarded her a Distinguished Graduate Award, and she also received an Honorary Doctorate in Business from the University of West England that same year. She was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours list for her services to diversity and inclusion in the creative and media industries.

Ed Balls

Ed Balls

LTSB were delighted to welcome Ed Balls as Patron in 2022, a natural progression following his support of the charity over several years. He is a broadcaster, writer and economist. His latest TV series ‘Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls’ aired on BBC2 in November 2021. Ed is Professor of Political Economics at King’s College, London, a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and co-Chair of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation. He is a former Member of Parliament, Shadow Chancellor, Cabinet Minister and Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury. He cooks, sails, plays the piano and is a Norwich City Vice-President and Club Ambassador. He is married to Yvette Cooper MP and they have three children.

Lord O'Neill of Gately

Lord O'Neill of Gatley

Lord O’Neill is a cross bench peer in the House of Lords. He is a member of the panel of Senior Advisors to Chatham House. Jim recently became Chair of Northern Gritstone. His previous roles include joint head of research at Goldman Sachs (1995–2000), its chief economist (2001–10) and chairman of its asset management division (2010–13); creator of the acronym BRIC; chair of the City Growth Commission (2014); chair of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance [AMR] (2014-16); commercial secretary to the Treasury (2015-16).  He is a board member, and one of the founding trustees of educational charity SHINE. Lord O’Neill was created a life peer in 2015 and serves as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.  He is an honorary professor of economics, University of Manchester, and holds honorary degrees from the University of Sheffield, University of Manchester, University of London and from City University London. He received his PhD from the University of Surrey and is now a Visiting Professor there.

Cheryl Stokes

Cheryl Stokes

Cheryl Stokes became Chief Executive of CNEXT in 2022 after more than three years as a partner at Heidrick & Struggles, where she focused on leadership, culture, diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to this she helped launch and then worked at Duke Corporate Education for 18 years, holding numerous senior leadership positions, including Regional Managing Director for Europe and Vice President of Global Learning Methods and Innovations. For more than 20 years, she has helped leaders effectively address challenges in the global business environment, leading businesses to develop the leadership system and the organizational capabilities needed to execute their strategies. Cheryl was made Patron of LTSB in 2021 and became Trustee in 2022. During this time, she has provided support and advice to the charity’s leadership and featured as a guest on an episode of our ‘Leaders Talk’ podcast.

Viv Anderson MBE

Viv Anderson MBE

Former professional footballer, Viv Anderson made history both on and off the pitch. Recognised for his strength in the face of racism, Viv become the first Black player to represent England in 1978, and in turn, gained a place as a sporting icon. Since hanging up his boots Viv has continued to be a voice for diversity in sports, and his career acts as an inspiration for many facing adversity in any form. In recognition for his undeniable influence on the club and football community, Viv was named by fans as Nottingham Forest’s Greatest Ever Player. Viv was awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1999, and in 2004 he was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. In 2017 Viv created Playon Pro to help former professionals earn a living, make friends, and find new opportunities in the difficult years after retirement from professional sport. Viv has been a fantastic ambassador for LTSB and provides inspiration for many young people whenever he attends one of our events or speaks on our behalf.

Lord Davies of Abersoch

Lord Davies of Abersoch

As Patron to LTSB, Lord Davies has played an active role at several fundraising events, expertly hosting dinners, galas and auctions to raise money and support for the charity in his unique, lively style. Lord Davies is a Partner and the Chairman of Corsair Capital, a private equity firm specialising in financial services. He is also the Chairman of LetterOne, the Chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association, the Chairman of Intermediate Capital Group, Interim Chairman of Glyndebourne Productions Ltd, an Adviser to Teneo and he is also the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Sri Lanka. He was Minister for Trade, Investment, Small Business and Infrastructure from January 2009 until May 2010. Prior to that, Lord Davies was Chairman and previously CEO, and served on the Board of Standard Chartered for over 12 years. He was awarded a CBE for his services to the financial sector and the community in Hong Kong in June 2002 where he served as a member of the HK Exchange fund for seven years. Lord Davies is a JP in Hong Kong, and he is an Honorary Distinguished Professor at Cardiff Business School. Lord Davies is married with two children and is a fluent Welsh speaker.

David Pinchin

David Pinchin

David Pinchin founded LTSB in 2011 and served as Chair of Trustees until March 2023. He is a Welsh born dual UK and US citizen. He was one of the founders of the OTC currency options market in the early 1980’s and he co-founded Tradition Financial Services (TFS) in 1985, which became one of the world’s leading international Inter Dealer brokers. David was CEO or Co-CEO of TFS for 25 years and COO of Tradition Group from 2007 to 2009. Both companies were publicly quoted.  Over the last ten years David has become more and more passionate about the programme as he has seen the lives of young people transformed and how this has positively impacted their families and their communities. His ambition has been and still is to maintain the considerable momentum for this charity and to galvanise support from government and business to really move the needle in society in terms of Social Mobility, Diversity and Gender Equality. David was a guest on LTSB’s ‘Leaders Talk’ podcasts, interviewed by an alumni of one of the first ever cohorts. In September 2022 he became  a Freeman of the City of London thanks to his work with LTSB.

Virginia Wade OBE

Full bio coming soon.

Virginia Wade OBE

Virginia Wade, OBE is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. She was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world in singles, and No. 1 in the world in doubles. She won the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon on 1 July 1977, in that tournament’s centenary year, and was the last British tennis player to have won a Grand Slam singles tournament until Andy Murray won the US Open in 2012. She remains the last British female to have won a Grand Slam singles title. After retiring from competitive tennis, she has coached and worked as a tennis commentator and game analyst for the BBC and Eurosport. Virginia recently featured as a guest on LTSB’s ‘Leaders Talk’ podcast, sharing her story and insight into building a successful career.

Sir William Atkinson

Sir William Atkinson

Sir William Atkinson is recognised as being one of the UK’s most respected headteachers. He was labelled Britain’s most successful headteacher after turning around ‘the worst school in the country.’ As well as leading schools directly, William has held several advisory positions on government committees, including as a member of the DfE Standards Task Force and the Fulham School Commission. He also continues to offer advice to schools and education bodies on how to improve and tackle specific problems. Sir William has been a tremendous Ambassador for LTSB since the charity was formed in 2012. He has provided valuable advice, been involved in delivery, been a guest speaker, provided the Commencement Address for one of our Graduations and has always been an inspiration to our young people, LTSB staff, Trustees and fellow Patrons. We were delighted when Sir William joined LTSB as a Patron in early 2019. He brings an expert understanding of the UK educational system and the specific challenges faced by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sarah Ebanja

Sarah Ebanja

Sarah Ebanja is Chief Executive of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, the Club’s award-winning charitable body. Sarah has worked for over 20 years at senior level in local and regional government including roles at the London Boroughs of Lewisham, Hackney and Islington, and as Deputy Chief Executive of the London Development Agency. Sarah currently chairs the Newlon Housing Trust and the College of Haringey, Enfield & North East London, and was previously chair of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and the Stephen Lawrence Trust. Sarah was a Trustee of LTSB since it was founded in 2012 and was made Patron after retiring from this position. Sarah has been a fantastic friend to LTSB, and as pillar of the North London community she has fostered important connections for the charity as well as providing expert advice on our programmes in our early years.

Lord Spencer of Alresford

Lord Spencer of Alresford

Lord Michael Spencer is a British entrepreneur, philanthropist and supporter of LTSB as well as a recognised figure in the City of London. Along with Lord O’Neill and David Pinchin, Lord Spencer provided initial funding to the charity through the famous ICAP Charity Day. He is now the powerhouse behind a variety of businesses including several FinTech companies through his private investment company, IPGL. He is the founder of NEX Group, a UK-based electronic markets and post trade business acquired by CME Group in November 2018. NEX Group was formerly known as ICAP, until the sale of its voice-broking business to Tullett Prebon in December 2016. Lord Spencer’s peerage was announced in the Prime Minister’s July 2020 Honour List.