ACTION ON HEARING LOSS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
Claire Bailey joined the Board of Trustees in 2018 as a co-opted trustee to bring her financial expertise to the work of the Board. Claire is a Chartered Accountant and is currently the CFO for a global businesses in the Aerospace sector. She has a distinguished CV of financial leadership and transformation across a number of sectors.
Claire has family members with severe hearing loss and lives with tinnitus.
"I developed close links with RNID in the 1980s when I was Director of Student Services in the University of Ulster, and co-founded the Joint Universities Deaf Education Centre (JUDE) with QUB. Later I served as Chair of the Northern Ireland Advisory Group of RNID. RNID published my research study of the school-leaving qualifications of young people with hearing loss in Northern Ireland, and my biography of Francis Maginn, the great pioneer for the rights of deaf people. I have also chaired the Boards of two third level Colleges. As a result, I have substantial experience and expertise in governance, strategic planning and the management and overview of large scale budgets.
Since November 2015, I have been the chair of CRAICNI, a training agency which runs courses on cultural awareness. All the trainers are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Because of our network of contacts, we are liaising with the team running the Hear to Inform and Connect project in Northern Ireland.
In recent years, I have given lectures to community groups and run an information desk at Causeway Hospital for RNID. Following the recent grant award, I am assisting with volunteer recruitment. I am married, a grandfather, 76 years old and have tinnitus in my right ear."
Job Titles:
- Director of Research and Insight
Dr Ralph Holme leads RNID's work to accelerate the discovery and development of treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus. Working globally, his team fund ground-breaking research, build future research capacity, and connect innovators to the knowledge and resources they need to succeed.
Ralph's career to date has been focused on hearing research. Before joining RNID, he was a research scientist investigating the genetic basis of deafness at the Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research. He says: "Medical research offers hope to the millions of people who seek better hearing, and I'm committed to bringing this about."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
Ewen joined the Board as Chairman of RNID in June 2022.
He is currently Group Chief Financial Officer of HSBC Holdings plc, having previously held Board and senior management positions at RBS (now NatWest Group) and Credit Suisse.
Ewen holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (majoring in Accountancy) and a Bachelor of Law from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. He has lived with single sided deafness for the past 10 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Investor
- Member of the Board of Trustees
Gideon is an advisor and investor in commercial media and technology ventures. Previously a founding partner in a media business, Gideon oversaw growth to international scale. He also spent a decade advising ministers on policy matters at HM Treasury.
Gideon has severe hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since childhood, as do his son and mother. He is a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Gill has deep experience as a senior leader in the charity sector, working in the area of legal, governance and risk and through trustee roles in charities. She has long been committed to charities which seek to challenge disadvantage - in health, education, rights, employment and opportunity - where she seeks to create and embed inclusion. Gill currently leads on governance, legal and compliance matters for the education charity, Teach First, and has worked as a solicitor at Save the Children UK and Plan International as well as in the commercial world. She has been a trustee of charities including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Community Links and Blenheim CDP which all worked to address inequalities in some way.
Gill has personal experience of sudden hearing loss and lives with partial hearing and tinnitus. When her hearing loss happened, it was RNID resources she turned to so she could better understand her new world and life, as the leading charity to support people like Gill. She also has family experience of deafness and hearing decline. The prevalence of these issues in all families is significant.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Director of Strategy and Impact
Harriet joined RNID in November 2020 after a career as a management consultant at PA Consulting, where she worked across government, health and life sciences sectors, helping organisations shape and deliver strategic change. Her early career was in charities and the NHS.
Harriet's move back to the not-for-profit sector is driven by a commitment to empowering lives and creating social inclusion, and her priority at RNID is to lead the delivery of our new strategy.
Harriet lives with her husband and three children. In her spare time, she is also Co-Chair of Trustees at New North London Synagogue (NNLS).
For the past two years Ita has been CEO of SYZYGY UK; a data and digital strategic agency. Prior to this, she was MD at WPP, the world's largest communications group. Her background is in communications and marketing, where she has worked with some of the largest FTSE 100 companies during the course of her 30+ year career. Ita is an advisory member of The Girls' Network Group, an organisation which helps disadvantaged teenage girls.
Ita is passionate about helping brands create transformational change at pace; with a family history of severe hearing loss , she is delighted to have the opportunity to do this at RNID.
Job Titles:
- Director of Performance and Corporate Services
James joined RNID in 2019 to lead the charity's Finance, IT and Property teams and help modernise these functions. His current priorities include managing our financial planning through COVID-19 (coronavirus), the implementation of our new technology strategy, and reviewing the way we use our office space to embrace agile working.
Julian was born profoundly deaf, with progressive binaural hearing loss, and diagnosed at the age of 3. After many years wearing hearing aids, his hearing loss progressed significantly and he underwent a cochlear implant operation. He works at The Medical Research Network, supporting clinical trials as Executive Director, Quality Management where he heads up the Quality Management and Learning Development functions. As part of this role, he has responsibility for driving corporate and cultural change in a rapidly growing organisation, and he has overall accountability for all quality matters across the company as well as building relationships with clients.
In his previous roles, he has worked with many global pharmaceutical companies across Europe, the US, and the UK government, to help them improve processes, define digital strategy, transform operating models and implement governance models for different technical functions in research and development. This experience working with multiple organisations, from large to small, has given him insight into a huge range of cultures and ways of working that enables him to understand different organisations and how best to bring best practices to life. Throughout his career, Julian has promoted awareness and accessibility for all, and has contributed to or sat on boards dedicated to promoting diversity and supporting those with disabilities.
Job Titles:
- BUSINESS DIRECTOR
- Company Secretary
- Director
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Trustees
Lindsay is Executive Director of a leading national deaf charity, which is also the lead awarding body for British Sign Language. She is passionate about improving communication between deaf, deafblind and hearing people, and creating better communities in the process.
She says: "I want to make sure that deaf and deafblind people have the same opportunities as everyone else, and the same access to education, employment and services. I am confident I can use my skills and experience in this area of education, diversity and inclusion to progress the aims of RNID."
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chief Executive
- Member of the Executive Team
Mark was appointed Chief Executive of RNID in October 2018 and has a track record of leading organisations to define their strategy, transform their operations and deliver their commitments.
Mark has predominately worked in social sector organisations leading business change, refocus and growth. Prior to RNID, he spent five years at the disability charity Scope, including three and a half as its Chief Executive.
Mark is also a Board Member at the Social Care Institute for Excellence and a Board Member of Habinteg Housing Association.
Job Titles:
- Director of Fundraising and Engagement
Nick is a senior leader and marketer with a track record of exceeding targets across the charity, financial services, and retail sectors. He joined RNID from Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity where he held the post of Deputy Director for 6 years, leading the marketing and innovation teams through the pandemic, the launch of a new strategy and a charity-wide restructure.
Previously Nick was the Head of Social Marketing and Brand at the British Heart Foundation, where he oversaw a number of successful campaigns including a ban on cigarette vending machines and the introduction of CPR training to the school curriculum. Nick also brings experience from Halifax and The Co-Operative Group.
Nick is a Chartered Accountant with broad experience in strategic and operational finance in non-profit organisations, both in the UK and Africa. He is currently Director of Finance and Resources at the Disasters Emergency Committee, and has previously held roles at Christian Aid, the Refugee Council and the RAF Benevolent Fund. Nick is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and holds a masters degree in Charity Management from City University, London.
Nick holds an active interest in the work of RNID as he suffers from partial hearing loss as a result of ear surgery earlier in his life. He wears hearing aids and lives with tinnitus.
Sally developed severe hearing loss during her twenties following an infection. Having experienced first hand challenges hearing loss brings within the workplace and socially, Sally is passionate about removing the stigma and raising awareness of deafness, particularly in the workplace. Sally has spent 20 years in fashion retail as a Finance Director, latterly at Marks and Spencer. She is also a trustee for two other charities.