David Coughtrie

Dip Arch RIBA FCILT

Chairman

David Coughtrie became a Trustee in 2011 and Chairman in October 2014. He is also a member of the Grants and Development Committee. David was born in Ayrshire, educated at Ayr Academy and Strathclyde University where he studied architecture. He practised in Scotland before moving to London to work in the transport sector. An aptitude for project management led to high profile appointments in the UK and overseas, becoming Managing Director of London Transport International and President of LTIC Inc in the USA. He set up his own managament consultancy, DCA Ltd, advising the World Bank, various governments and corporate clients on strategic options for public transport in Europe, Africa, Middle and Far East and the Americas. He has served on government committees and is a long standing Member of the Union Internationale des Transports Publics, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Logistics and Transport as well as a Chartered Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. While a long term member of the London Scottish Diaspora, living in Dulwich with his wife and daugher, he maintains a close link with Scotland and retains property in Ayrshire. President of the Caledonian Society of London in 2008-2009, he was recently Chairman of the Caledonian Club. He is currently a member of the Court of Guardians of the Royal Caledonian Schools and a Trustee of the Royal Scottish Corporation. In the latter, known as ScotCare, he is a Member of the Committee of Management, chairing the Property Committee. He is a Patron of Dalmellington Silver Band.

Chris Atkin

CEng FRAeS MA(Cantab) PhD

Trustee, Chairman of the Grants and Development Committee

Chris is Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at City University which he joined in 2008 to lead the Aeronautics Centre within the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Chris is an international authority on the prediction and control of boundary layer flows, in particular for the purposes of skin friction drag reduction by means of laminar flow control. He has provided advice and modelling software to Airbus, Bombardier, QinetiQ, EADS and the UK Ministry of Defence. His current academic interests focus on innovative flow control techniques for persistent UAVs and low-emission transport aircraft. He also maintains a strategic interest in commercial and technical barriers to the application of flow control on future commercial aircraft projects. Alongside his involvement with the Trust, Chris served as President of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society (2016-2017) and is currently an Associate Editor of the Aeronautical Journal.

Robin Booth

FCA

Trustee, Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee

Robin Booth became a Trustee in 2012 following his retirement as Financial Controller and Company Secretary of the Trust, which position he had held since 1990. He is also a member of the Grants and Development Committee and Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee. Alongside his involvement with the Trust, Robin was also Finance Director and Company Secretary of The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry until retiring as Finance Director in 2008 and as Company Secretary in 2011. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Moore Stephens & Co., in 1973 he joined Rea Brothers, the listed private banking group, becoming Group Secretary (with wide financial responsibilities), an Assistant Director of the bank and a Director of the Group’s Lloyd’s broking and travel agency subsidiaries. Simultaneously he was Finance Director and Secretary of Stocklake Holdings PLC, a listed international trading group closely associated with the bank with interests in steel stockholding (in Africa), export management, confirming and financing, textile manufacturing and merchanting, the import into the United Kingdom of hardwood and agricultural machinery (the latter from former Eastern bloc countries), property development and the import of Czech shoes into Canada. He studied at La Sorbonne, Paris and the Universität Heidelberg. A member of The Livery Committee, he is also a member of the Court and a Past Master of The Clothworkers’ Company and a former Trustee of The Clothworkers’ Foundation. Since 2013 he has been a Trustee and Treasurer of The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

Nicolina Andall

Advisor

Nicolina Andall is a Qualified Solicitor with an extensive background in commercial law, having worked in the City and In-House in a number of international companies. Whilst Chair of Croydon Chamber of Commerce, she became heavily involved in LCCI’s ‘Young Chamber’ initiative. This involved sitting on the steering committee, contributing to teacher sessions, presentations, workshops, roundtable student discussions and careers fairs. During the last few years, Nicolina has personally engaged with around 2,500 young people aged 13-25, helping them to be able to survive and thrive in the world of work.

Edward Brunel-Cohen

FCA

Trustee

Edward is a Chartered Accountant and is now semi-retired, having stood down in 2015 from his role as Global Director of Finance and IT at the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI) in the City of London, where he had been for five years. He joined CET as a trustee in June 2018 because he is “excited to be part of a charity with a long history of developing people’s commercial skills and helping them to fulfil their true potential”. Previously, he build an internet-based company that he co-founded in the USA and UK. His early career was in the accountancy profession (latterly with Nevill Russell, now know as Mazars), which he left to become finance director of a major group of Lloyd’s Insurance underwriting agencies. Edward is also a trustee of National Numeracy, The Wheatsheaf Trust, and The David Lewis Association.

Alun Evans

BA (Hons) FCA MBA

Trustee

Alun Evans became a Trustee in February 2016. He is a member of the Finance and Administration Committee. Having qualified as a chartered accountant in 1981, Alun held a number of senior finance positions with Chrysalis Group plc, Cope Allman International plc and Coloroll Group plc. Between 1990 and 1993 he was Group Finance Director for City and Financial Group. Alun currently serves Director and Partner of Racer CMS Ltd, an international mail and courier company providing a range of services of corporate clients in Central London, a firm he joined in 1993. Alongside his involvement with CET, Alun is Trustee and Treasurer of the Oxfordshire branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society; he is also independent examiner of the church accounts of the Parish of Aston Sandford in the diocsese of Oxford. Between 2007 and 2015 Alun supported SeeSaw (as Trustee and Treasurer) a charity which provides support to bereaved children of Oxfordshire. Alun is a graduate of Sussex University and received his MBA from Manchester Business School.

John Hillier

Advisor

John Hillier is a former trustee of the Commercial Education Trust and serves as Senior Advisor and Member of the Trust’s Grants and Development Committee. As Chief Executive of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications from 1990 to 1997, he was responsible for the development and introduction of NVQs and GNVQs. He spent many years in industry, working in production and HR management, serving as Chairman of International Training Services Ltd, and of EMTA Awards Ltd and non-executive director of Glass Training Ltd. As Managing Director of FHP Consulting, his clients included the UK Government, Awarding Bodies, Sector Skills Councils, Overseas Governments and Multi-National Companies

Darragh O'Sullivan

BA (Hons) Law; Pg. Dip. Legal Practice (Bar Vocational and Legal Practice courses)

Advisor

Darragh is the founder of DOS & Co, a virtual family office service company. He specialises in supporting family offices, entrepreneurs and the young wealthy in their legal, operational and reputation-management affairs. He became an Advisor to CET in April 2018. His early experience was in the luxury retail sphere, as one of the directors of Dublin-based spa brand, Nue Blue Eriu which specialised in urben spa therapies and the development and retail of premium skincare, cosmetics, fragrances and home scents. Working with Nue Blue Eriu, he designed and executed pop-up spa/retail experiences at the Cannes Film Festivals (2005, 2006 and 2007), the BRIT Awards (2006) and the Oscars (2006). From 2009 – 2012 Darragh was involved in the ski and luxury travel sectors, running overseas operations for a small, bespoke ski operator: renovating and running the Hotel Saint Louis in Courchevel 1850; and then managing some of the world’s most luxurious chalets and training incoming chalet managers in Couchevel, Meribel and Val d’Isere. In addition to his responsibilities toward DOS & Co’s private clients he organises the annual HQR Ski Trip and acts as trustee to a number of private family trusts.

Anne Robins

BSc Dip Ed HDLS

Advisor

Anne Robins was born and educated in Scotland. She graduated with a BSc from Glasgow University and has postgraduate qualifications in education, teaching, and library science. For the first part of her professional life Anne managed projects in Information Technology, mainly with large commercial organisations in the UK and overseas, concluding as an IT Development Director within the Zurich group. For a further ten years she was Projects Director for Threadneedle Asset Management in the City of London, planning or directing corporate projects, overseas ventures, and other business initiatives, as well as monitoring the total programme of major IT and business projects. During this period she played key roles in the development of Retail and Pensions businesses, handled M&A activity in the UK, and undertook advisory or management roles in business start-ups, acquisitions and disposals in India and Europe. Anne was a director of Threadneedle Investments Managers Ltd, and also participated in committee work at the IMA and in working groups assessing the impact of major changes to the business environment in the City. In retirement, since that she had some experience of living and working in South Africa, Anne volunteered to assist the Canon Collins Educational Trust for Southern Africa. Later, following her sporting interests, Anne served as a trustee on the West of England Sports Partnership for several years.

David Willets

BA FCA

Trustee

David Willetts became a Trustee in 2012. He is also a member of the Grants and Development Committee. David is Founder and Chairman of Reeve Hepburn, a corporate advisory boutique based in the UK. His work at Reeve Hepburn has included a number of external roles as Chairman of a UK Engineering Group listed on the London Stock Exchange, venture capital funded businesses: a Concrete Products Manufacturer in Eastern England and a specialist group of Automotive Repair Centres in North London. David has led and advised management teams in successful buyouts and subsequent exits. He was the Board Member responsible at the leading Lloyds Marine and Aviation Managing Agency for overseeing the first corporate capital investment into the Lloyds of London insurance market. He is currently Chairman of SerraLux Inc, an early stage company that specialises in Daylighting products for the Architectural Glazing Industry. Since 1983, David has worked on pro bono leading major regeneration initiatives in London: Founder and Chairman of the first business Enterprise Agency in London and the first Groundwork Environmental Charity in London. As a founder member (1989), David continues to serve as a main board director and trustee of East London Business Alliance, a charity substantially funded by the Global Investment Bank Community in London to deliver high quality Corporate Community Investment programmes. He also completed six years’ service as an elected member of the Council of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On graduating from Bristol University with an honours degree in History, David trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Touche Ross in the UK, a predecessor firm of Deloitte and Touche, where he worked for seven years with major listed clients in North America, France and the UK. David was then invited to join Neville Russell, now Mazars, as a senior partner. In addition to his role as a supervising client partner, David’s responsibilities as a member of the Executive Board included five years as managing partner of the firm’s principal office in London, followed by five years working in North America, Europe and Asia, establishing and building the firm’s international practice.

Clare Brooks

BA (Hons) MBA

Director and Secretary

Clare joined CET in May 2015 and serves as Director. She has worked with charitable foundations, community foundations and donor-advised funds for over twenty-five years, initially in Central and Eastern Europe (based in Prague) and more recently in Australia and the UK. Clare is an Advisor to NESsT-UK, the sister organisation to NESsT, which develops sustainable social enterprises that solve critical social problems in emerging market economies. She is also an advises the Community Foundation Support Programme (CFSP) in Hungary. Past involvements include the UK’s Philanthropy Impact, the Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support Community Foundation – Community Foundations, the Community Foundation of Singapore, the Via Foundation of Prague and TRAG (formerly the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund).

Grace Cole

Grants Administrator

Grace graduated from Nottingham University in 2005 with a degree in Ancient History, in which she still holds a keen interest. After her studies, Grace had a brief career in recruitment before going on to spend 11 years working within the derivatives space for various investment banks, most notably for Lehman Brothers and the subsequent unwind of the company. Having taken a step back to enjoy more time with her young family, Grace joined CET in November 2017 on a part time basis as the Grants Administrator.