The Cabinet Office has announced the six new board members of the Charity Commission that will replace the current governance team at the regulator serving under William Shawcross as chair.

Shawcross's new team will comprise: retired senior police officer Peter Clarke; social entrepreneur Claire Dove; legal experts Orlando Fraser and Tony Leifer; technology and media specialist Nazo Moosa; and research professor Gwythian Prins.

Announcing the appointments Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, said: "This is a time of great change and opportunity for the charitable sector with its organisations now rightly involved in many areas of public services delivery. The need for a strong regulator to protect the public’s confidence in that work is vital. So I am pleased to make these new appointments to strengthen the Commission’s board with a new set of skills, knowledge and experience."

The appointments come at a tough time for the regulator, which is undertaking a review of its services following harsh cuts of a third of its budget, staff strikes over cuts to pay and conditions, and intense scrutiny over its ability to regulate in the wake of the Cup Trust scandal.

Shawcross said of the appointments:  "I am delighted to welcome these new board members to the Commission and I greatly look forward to working with them. I would also like to thank those current members of the Board who are departing for the invaluable service they have given the Commission.

"We had some 280 applicants for the vacancies we are filling - such a response is gratifying. It shows how many people are willing to commit themselves to the effective regulation of the charitable sector. I am confident that our new board will be able to do just that."

The existing board members will stand down in a staggered formation, making way for the new members at different times over the coming year. 

Each board member will serve on the Commission's board for a term of three years, holding responsibility for the regulator's strategy and future direction. 

 

Current trustee		End date		New Trustee	Start date
Simon Wethered		April 2013		Peter Clarke	13 May 2013
John Knight		31 May 2013		Claire Dove	1 July 2013
Sharmila Nebhrajani		28 June 213		Orlando Fraser	16 July 2013
Theo Sowa		15 July 2013		Tony Leifer	13 May 2013
John Wood		14 January 2014		Nazo Moosa	13 May 2013
				Gwythian Prins	3 June 2013

 

About the new board

Peter Clarke

Peter Clarke was head of the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorism Branch and national co-ordinator of terrorist investigations for almost six years. He has worked internationally on intergovernmental negotiations and played a leading part in investigations such as the Bali bombings and other attacks against British interests. Prior to his role in the Anti-Terrorist Branch he was deputy director, then acting director, of personnel at the Met.

Claire Dove 

Claire Dove is chair of Social Enterprise UK and has been a key player in the social enterprise movement since the 1980's and is a current social enterprise ambassador. She is also CEO of the Blackburne House Group, which was established in 1983 as the Women's Technology and Education Centre, helping to establish a number of social enterprises to further its educational aims.

Orlando Fraser

Orlando Fraser has 18 years of experience advising on complex financial legal cases, including trusts and commercial fraud. He is a founding fellow of the Centre for Social Justice and chaired the voluntary sector working group on the Social Justice Commission Report. He also sits on NCVO's advisory council. He is married to Clementine Hambro, the great granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, and in 2008 was noted as one of five "Conservatives for the future" by tory blog site ConservativeHome.

Tony Leifer

Tony Leifer is a lawyer and forme head of corporate at D J Freeman and Olswang LLP Solicitors. He is also chair of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality and Trustee of YaD and the Corrine Burton Memorial Trust. 

Nazo Moosa

Nazo Moosa has 20 years experience in industry and was a director of the asset management Carlyle Group. Most notably she focused on technology opportunities in healthcare, media and telecoms. She has served on the board of the transport technology company Transics and has been chair of digital marketing company BMM.

Gwythian Prins

Gwythian Prins is a life-long academic and research professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was formerly senior fellow in the Office of the Special Advisor on central and eastern European Affairs. He has strong views on the role of the armed forces having spoken in support of them in the Telegraph and was co-editor of the Notting Hill Editions-published 'Sail on o ship of state', a book addressing international affairsand the 'nation state'.