ESU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Branch Chairman
- Chichester Chairman
Chichester chairman Anthony Davies, as a QC, gave an interesting talk on the anatomy of murder. The talk raised money for the ESU.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair
- IPSC Representative for Thailand
Rebecca (Becca), ESU alumna and volunteer, works at an international law firm. Her involvement with the ESU spans from being an IPSC representative for Thailand to participating as a Debate Academy scholar.
Becca, an IPSC representative for Thailand and a Debate Academy scholar, continues to contribute to the organisation as a judge for the Schools' Mace Competition. Her presidency at the University Law Society resulted in a marked increase in online engagement, a precursor to her role as Vice-Chair of the London Young Lawyers Group. Becca's commitment to global dialogue is evident in her orchestration of high-profile panels, including those with Lady Hale and Gina Miller, and her coordination of the International Weekend with the European Young Bar Association, enhancing global legal discourse. Her establishment of an online campus ambassador program across 36 universities and her advocacy work with Citizens Advice reflect her local and global influence.
Job Titles:
- Branch Chairman
- Events and Information
Job Titles:
- HR and Business Support Manager
Job Titles:
- Director General
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Charles Byrne joined the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth as Director-General in March 2024, bringing a lifelong passion for oracy and a broad range of valuable skills and experience. As DG, Charles also acts as the Secretary-General to the International Council of the ESU.
Charles's career has covered both the commercial and third sectors. He was previously Director-General of the Royal British Legion; he represented the Legion at cross-party select committees, on national television, fulfilled ceremonial duties at national and international Remembrance events and regularly hosted members of the royal family.
In 2009, following his father's diagnosis with cancer, Charles joined Macmillan Cancer Support to lead its fundraising with corporate partners, high-value donors and through its major events such as the World's Biggest Coffee Morning.
Before moving to the third sector, Charles's career was in the commercial world, developing the retail estate at Heathrow's Terminal Five, setting up and running travel retail offers across Europe and working in the UK wine trade.
Charles has completed studies with the Royal College of Defence Studies and the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. He holds an MBA from the University of Surrey and a BA in philosophy and literature from the University of York.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Domestic Programmes Manager
With her degree in education studies, Chelsea began her career in Learning and Development in the NHS. She has experience working with variety of teams and stakeholders, and has a particular interest in social mobility and the social issues that impact children and young people's learning.
Chelsea aligns with the ESU mission to equip young people with the skills they need to thrive, and is developing our educational programmes and increasing outreach to benefit the young people that need it most. Chelsea enjoys attending cultural events that celebrate her heritage, and finds joy in nature, music and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of Global Engagement
Consola is an external relations and membership expert. She is experienced in building long-term and high profile corporate and government partnerships for membership organisations as well as creating new commercial opportunities in the private and public sector.
David is an ed ucationalist from East London, and an experienced governance professional alongside his current role as a National Director of a large, multi-academy trust.
David joins the Board having been a co-optee of our Education Committee for the last year. David is an ed ucationalist from East London, where he continue s to live. David is an experienced governance professional alongside his current role as a National Director of a large, multi-academy trust. During his career he has been a teacher, school leader, a director of education and a school inspector. He has held senior management roles in a FTSE100 company where he was responsible for large national and international assessment programmes. David previously volunteered as a school governor, Chair of a small academy trust, co-opted member of a local authority children's services standards and overview committee, and since 2020, a trustee of Parentkind. David holds degrees in Education with English, a Masters in Educational Leadership and an MBA in Executive Management.
Job Titles:
- Head of News and Current Affairs, Channel 4
Ed is a qualified chartered surveyor and a firm advocate for English language and oracy skills.
Ed is a qualified chartered surveyor with over 30 years' experience in the commercial property sector during which time he has worked with many of London's leading property owners including the Crown Estate and the Cadogan Estate. Much of his spare time is taken up by volunteering at his local hospice in Hertfordshire where he works in the online sales team.
Ed is a firm advocate for providing every child with the opportunity to improve their English language and oracy skills to improve their confidence, self-esteem and school/career progression.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Member of the London
- Member of the London Branch
Francesca is a member of the London Branch and is an experienced organisational development consultant, specialis ing in executive coaching. Francesca previously worked as Chartered Accountant at PwC before retraining as an executive coach. Francesca initially worked with different businesses within PwC, coaching leaders through change and working with senior teams on their effectiveness. This rich experience has enabled her to build a successful independent coaching practice which Francesca started in 2017. Francesca has a particular interest in organisational performance. As an executive coach and Chartered Accountant, Francesca offer s the ESU diverse experience and expertise, a passion to help make a difference and a focus on sustainable organisational performance.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Education Coordinator
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Helen began her career in events management before moving to Vietnam to teach English. She has seen first-hand the importance of oracy in the classroom and is passionate about giving every child and young person the opportunity to have their voice heard. She is excited to help students build confidence and instil the belief that their voice matters.
Job Titles:
- Education Coordinator
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
India comes to the ESU with a degree in music and a varied background in the performing arts. She has first-hand experience of the ways in which performance opportunities are transformative for young people's confidence and self-esteem. She hopes that through her work here at the ESU she can give others the chance to discover their capability as leaders, as well as the joy of self-expression.
Jane is Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading, and has lived and worked in Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands as well as the UK.
Jane is Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading, working extensively on speech prosody in Global Englishes and with children with speech and language differences. Jane is probably best known as co-editor of the "Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary" (CUP 2011) and popular science book "Your Voice Speaks Volumes; It's not what you say, but how you say it" (OUP 2019). Jane has lived and worked in Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands as well as the UK, and was the first in her family to attend university. Jane is also a classic rock vocalist.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Interim Accounts Payable
Job Titles:
- International Programmes Manager
Laurence has a background in finance and financial markets research and has worked for companies including Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas. He is an alumnus of the Secondary School Exchange.
Laurence is an ESU alumnus and stands for a second term as a Trustee. Laurence spent most of his career working in investment banks, before moving to the public sector. Without the ESU's schools exchange programme, Laurence doubts he would have had the cultural awareness to land his first job, which was with the US bank Salomon Brothers. Laurence is now co-Head of Research and Analysis at the UK Debt Management Office, which manages the country's debt. Laurence is also on the Board of the RAC.
Scores of ESU members turned out to hear Lord David Owen speak about his latest book on Russia: Riddle, Mystery and Enigma
Job Titles:
- Director of Education
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Louisa began her career as a secondary school teacher in North London as part of the Teach First programme. She left the classroom in 2014 to co-found and then lead a youth philanthropy/social action charity before joining The ESU in June 2024.
Job Titles:
- Administrator
- Education Coordinator
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Melissa is an administrator, educator, and performer passionate about giving young people the oral and social skills they need to thrive.
Before joining the ESU, she worked as a French and English teacher internationally and completed a master's in Shakespeare Studies dual taught by King's College London and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. She is excited to blend her interests in language, cultural exchange, and performance at the ESU to equip young people with lifelong oracy skills.
Miles Young, Chair of the ESU is Warden of New College, Oxford, and a professional in the field of communication, having worked with global communications network Ogilvy & Mather for over 30 years, rising to become its Chair and CEO.
Miles Young participated in the ESU's Public Speaking Competition as a schoolboy and is Chair of the ESU.
Miles began his career in advertising, progressing to become Chair and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, a leading global communications network. More than half of his working life has been spent outside of the UK, in China, and then in North America. He returned to the UK in 2016 to take up his current post as Warden of New College, Oxford, his alma mater.
He is a passionate advocate of listening and speaking skills and is keen to ensure that the most disadvantaged in our society have access to the experience and training that the ESU uniquely offers.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Nathan joins the ESU with over 20 years' experience working in the public and charity sectors, where he has been responsible for advising organisations on strategy development and corporate governance.
Additionally, Nathan has been a school governor and trustee. Nathan is passionate about ensuring good governance and that organisations have what they need to make smart, informed decisions that meet the needs of beneficiaries.
Brighton member Neil Hargreaves tells us how the Brighton branch is promoting the Public Speaking Competition to local state schools.
Nick read English and German at Durham University and has had a life-long interest in languages, of which he speaks eight, and in the global use of English.
Nick read English and German at Durham University. He began his working life at Sotheby's and was most recently CEO of the Rothschild Foundation. But for most of his career he was a diplomat, first meeting the ESU as High Commissioner in Malta. He was also Ambassador to Denmark and the Czech Republic and, on secondments, a private secretary to the now-King and a member of the executive board of UK Trade and Investment. He has had a life-long interest in languages, of which he speaks eight, and in the global use of English.
Job Titles:
- S Joyce Rolf Lecture: Brighton
Lord Hennessey of Nympsfield delivered the 2016 Joyce Rolf memorial lecture. His subject "The Kingdom to Come" focused on the challenges facing the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote and the Scottish referendum on independence.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Executive Assistant to the Director General
As a professional advocate, Richard is keen to encourage and promote public speaking and debate in all its forms.
Richard is an ESU alumni and has been a Trustee since 2021 and is now Deputy Chair. Richard is a barrister specialising in planning and local government law, taking the silk in 2006. Richard was elected a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 2014. Richard is also a member of the local Parochial Church Council. Richard is married with three adult children. Richard divide s his time between London and Northamptonshire. Richard is keen singer and enjoy s reading, histo ry, theatre, tennis and skiing.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Branch Chairman
- Events and Information
Simon is currently Chair of the Buckinghamshire branch and is a qualified accountant and has a background in business transformation.
Simon is currently Chair of the Buckinghamshire branch. Simon started, led and participated in a number of charitable organisations over the last 30 years. Simon is a qualified accountant and has a background in business transformation. Simon currently works for the NHS supporting Primary Care in his local area. As a long-standing member of the ESU, Simon has been a judge and MC at many of the ESU's Public Speaking Competitions.
The board's treasurer, Simon has 40 years' commercial experience in countries including India, Malaysia and the UK, and is an enthusiastic supporter of cross-cultural exchange and understanding.
Simon has 40 years' commercial, strategy development and change management experience. He has worked for the BBC, BT, PWC and the NHS and has lived and worked in India and Malaysia. He is an enthusiastic supporter of encouraging cross-cultural understanding, the exchange of ideas and the resolution of differences through dialogue.
A long-standing ESU volunteer and alumna, Sophia manages corporate membership within her role at a global advocacy organisation.
Over the last nine years, Sophia, an alumn a of the ESU, has acted as a mentor, volunteer, judge, branch committee member, and member of staff in the central ESU team. Spanning the breadth of the ESU's work on local and international levels, these experiences have given Sophia an in-depth and diverse understanding of both a strategic, ‘bigger picture' perspective, and a practical, logistical understanding of day-to-day operations. Sophia manages corporate membership within her role at a global advocacy organisation, and is currently providing pro bono support to an industry foundation focused on social mobility in the financial sector.
Local coordinator Steph Thorne recounts how the East Midlands region's hybrid competition got on
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Branch Chairman
- Chairman of the South Wales Branch
Chair of the South Wales branch of the ESU, Stephen has held a range of senior roles in education and continues to work in examinations and as an educational consultant.
Stephen Purcell is a volunteer Chair of the South Wales Branch, and stands for a second term as Trustee. Stephen has held a range of senior academic, pastoral and administrative roles in education including leading a marketing team involving SWOT studies, public relations exercises and business development strategies. In the later stages of his career, Stephen was appointed Chair of Trustees at the English Speaking Board, and Chief Examiner for English Literature A level at WJEC/ Eduqas; Chairman of English Language A level and Chairman of English Language and Literature.
Job Titles:
- Finance Manager
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team