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Benita Refson OBE, our founding Trustee and current Chief Executive, established The Place2Be as a charity in 1994.
As well as overseeing the day-to-day management of the organisation, Benita sits on our Board of Trustees, which meets quarterly throughout the year. Board members also get together for dedicated strategic planning days and presentation meetings, and to participate in focused sub-committees, which look at Quality, Finance, Development and Risk Management, four times a year.
Our Board of Trustees
David Childs LLB, LLMup
David is the Global Managing Partner at Clifford Chance LLP, the largest international law firm in the world.David has been a practicing lawyer for nearly 30 years, specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and equity issues, and in advising major global corporations and financial institutions. He has been a Trustee for The Place2Be since September 2004.
Michael Fowle CBE – Trustee Chairman and Finance Committee Chairmanup
Michael is a Chartered Accountant. He is a Non Executive Director for ICICI Bank (since 2003). Michael worked at KPMG from 1962-2000. He was CEO then Chairman of KPMG London; South (1993-98), having formerly been head of the UK audit practice and head of the worldwide banking practice. He was Chairman of KPMG India from1996-2000. Michael's pro-bono appointments include; Trustee, Prince's Drawing School (since 2003) and Chairman, Rugby School (since 2002). Previously, he was Chief Treasurer for St John Ambulance (1999-02); In 2000, Michael was appointed CBE for services to Business in the Community. Michael because a Trustee of The Place2Be in 1998 and has been [Trustee and/or Finance] Chairman since 1999.
Caroline Fiennesup
Caroline is Executive Director of the Global Cool Foundation, a UK-registered charity focused on climate change-specifically reducing carbon emissions by encouraging lower-carbon behaviour in the public. Previously, Caroline worked for the Carbon Trust, where she advised companies on engaging their people on climate change. Caroline has also led the client service business at New Philanthropy Capital, where she helped charitable funders to make the most of their resources; she has worked with well-known names including the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, Big Lottery Fund, Booz & Co., the Home Office, Morgan Stanley as well as many families and smaller foundations. Caroline was introduced to The Place2Be by NPC and became a Trustee in December 2006 in part because of its focus on tracking and improving performance.
Dr Denny Grantup
Denny is jointly employed as Assistant Director for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Principal Educational Psychologist for Enfield. He has extensive experience as an applied psychologist, with 20 years as head of service. He is a founder member of the Association of Black Psychologists and has served on several other professional bodies. He has also spent many years on the governing body of a large comprehensive school. Denny joined the Place2Be Board of Trustees in December 2006.
Marc Meyohas- Development Committee Chairmanup
Marc is Chief Executive of MaxCap1, a company focused on corporate turnarounds. He started his career in the City, with brief stints at Daiwa Bank and Lehman Brothers, before setting up a sales and marketing agency specialising in medical products. In 1995, Marc founded Cityspace, a UK-based technology company providing digital networks to public and transport authorities. Marc remained CEO of Cityspace until 2008 at which point he founded MaxCap1. Marc joined The Place2Be Board of Trustees in April 1997.
The Honourable Robert Rayne up
Robbie is the Chief Executive of LMS Capital plc – the investment arm of London Merchant Securities plc, which he joined in 1968. He was appointed Investment Director in 1983, Joint Managing Director in 1998 and Chief Executive in May 2001. At present his directorships include Energy Cranes International Limited, Weatherford International Limited, AssetHouse Technology Limited, Cityspace Limited and Corizon Limited. He has been on the boards of a number of public companies, and is currently also Non-Executive Chairman of Derwent London plc, a Central London specialist property company. Robbie became a Place2Be Trustee in December 1993 as the organisation was founded and has been on the Board ever since.
Benita Refson OBE, Chief Executiveup
Benita is a qualified counsellor having trained at Regents College London and The Westminster Pastoral Foundation. After fifteen years' in management, business and finance she worked with voluntary sector agencies providing counselling to young people for several years, before establishing The Place2Be as a charity in 1994. As Chief Executive, Benita has been responsible for the development and growth of The Place2Be. She works full time for the organisation in an entirely voluntary capacity. In June 2007 she was awarded an OBE as ‘Founder and Chief Executive of The Place2Be, for services to Children and Families'.
Tim Smartup
Tim Smart has had a varied international career with Shell and BT. Most recently he has been responsible for all of the business between BT, Government and large corporate clients in the UK. He has been involved with several children’s and young peoples’ charities, including Outward Bound, The Prince's Trust and 'V'. In November 2008 Tim became CEO of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is married, with one son, and lives in London and Hampshire.
Rob Smith CB - Risk Group Chairmanup
Rob worked in the civil service from 1974 to 2005. For much of this time he worked in the Department for Education where he gained direct experience of developing policies for children with special needs, for extended schools, and school-business links. He also played a leading role in the establishment of the multi-agency Sure Start and Connexions programmes. In July 2000, Rob became Director General for Regional Co-ordination, working at Board level in the Department of Education and Training, the Cabinet Office and latterly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, where his responsibilities included regional economic development, regional governance, and ‘civil resilience'. Rob has worked closely with the voluntary sector, and been active in advisory groups with The Prince's Trust, Business in the Community, and The Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Rob is a Trustee of the National Literacy Trust and joined The Place2Be as a Trustee in March 2006.
Robert Waley-Cohenup
Robert founded Alliance Medical Ltd, which has grown to become the largest pan-European medical imaging company, with a turnover in excess of 100 million per annum. Operating a large mobile fleet and a wide range of fixed site partnerships, it has an extensive team of highly skilled Radiographers, who combined with state of the art cross sectional imaging equipment support more than 400 hospitals and clinics in the UK alone. Alliance Medical was sold to Bridgepoint in 2001 though Robert remains a director. Robert is also a racehorse owner and a trustee of the Countryside Foundation for Education, National Trust Board member, and a member of the Country Landowners Association. Robert joined The Place2Be Trustee Board in September 2007.
Lorna Parkerup
Lorna is Senior Adviser a BC Partners. She retired as a partner of Spencer Stuart, leading international excutive searchers, in 2008, after nearly 20 years with the firm. Lorna led Spencer Stuart's private equity practice across Europe and co-led the legal search practice globally. She was Managing Director of the UK firm from 1997 to 1999. In addition to private equity and legal searches, she also advised on board searches (chairmen, CEOs and non-executive directors for FTSE 250 and privately owned companies across a range of sectors). Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, she worked for Advent (venture capital) and Kleinwort Benson. She is also a Governor of Godolphin Latymer School where she chairs the development committee. Lorna joined The Place2Be in July 2009.
Dr Bob Jezzardup
Bob has spent much of his career as a consultant psychiatrist working with adolescents, as well as with children within the care system and with a special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. He was Clinical Director of the North Southwark and Lewisham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services from 1990 to1994 when he was seconded part-time to the Department of Health, continuing with clinical responsibilities at Guy’s. In 2000 he was appointed Senior Policy Adviser in child mental health at the Department of Health, seconded to the NHS one day a week as Consultant Child Psychiatrist for looked after children in Southwark. In 2006 he retired but in 2008 was Vice Chair of a national review for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. In 2009 he became a Trustee of the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships and joined The Place2Be trustee Board.
Our patrons - 1997 to date up
Dame Margaret Booth became a Patron of The Place2Be in 1997, having been the Trustee Chairperson in 1996.
Lord Ouseley became a Patron of The Place2Be in 2001, having sat on the Trustee Board from 1998-2000.
Dame Margaret Booth upCalled by the Middle Temple in 1956, Dame Margaret Booth took Silk in 1976 and was the first woman chairperson of the Family Law Bar Association from (1976 – 1978). Dame Booth was one of the first women barristers of her generation to be appointed a Judge in the Family Division of the High Court. During her 15 years in office (1979 – 1994) and she is revered by all family lawyers for her co-editorship of ‘Rayden and Jackson on Divorce' and her editorship of ‘Clarke Hill and Morrison on Children'.
During her time on the bench, she made time in her hectic schedule to be Chairperson of the Matrimonial Causes Procedure Committee (1982 - 1985), the Children Act Procedure Advisory Group (1989 - 1990), the Children Act Advisory Committee (1989 - 1993), the Inner London Justices Advisory Committee (1990 - 1993), the Central Selection Board for the Bar Vocational Course (1993 - 1995), and the Family Law Committee of Justice (1993 - 1997).
After retiring from the Bench, Dame Booth was appointed President of the Family Mediators Association (1994 - 1995), Visiting Professor of Law at Liverpool University (1994 - 1999), and Member of Council of Liverpool University (1994 - 1999) where she became Vice-President (1997 - 1999).
In addition to being a Patron of The Place2Be, she has given her wise advice, experience and active patronage to The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Children, Young People's and Families Advisory Committee, the Board of Governors, [the] UK College of Family Mediators and Parents Against Injustice (all 1996 – 1999). She is currently Chairperson of the Trustees of the Apex Charitable Trust Ltd , Committees That Care (UK) Ltd and the National Family and Parenting Institute. She is also President of Alone in London , Patron of the National Youth Advocacy Service , Trustee of Children's Promise and Chairperson of a Working Party appointed by the Prime Minister to produce National Standards for Adoption Services.
Lord Herman Ouseley upLord Ouseley was born in Guyana in 1945, and came to England when he was 11. He was educated at William Penn School and Catford College, where he gained a diploma in municipal administration. He was appointed as the first principal race relations advisor in local government, and served as Head of the GLC's Ethnic Minority Unit. He later became Chief Executive of the London Borough of Lambeth and the former Inner London Education Authority (the first black person to hold such an office), responsible for over 1,000 schools and colleges across the capital. In 1993, he became the executive chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), a position he held until 2000. He is widely credited with having restored the CRE's flagging credibility. It was during his time at the CRE that Lord Ouseley was introduced to Benita Refson and the work of The Place2Be, as a result of an introduction through BT, who were working with the CRE to improve and enhance interpersonal communication. Lord Ouseley joined The Place2Be Trustee Board for two years, before taking up the role of Patron in 2002.
In 2001, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Ouseley of Peckham Rye in Southwark. He is often called upon to chair independent inquiries into racism (from the educational system to the Bradford riots). He is actively involved in the work of many independent and voluntary organisations, including the Institute of Race Relations and the Ethnic Minority Foundation. He is also non-Executive Director of Focus Consultancy Ltd, Brooknight Security Ltd and Quiktrak and Chair of PRESET Education and Training trust, Kick-It-Out plc (the ‘let's kick racism out of football' campaign), and of the Policy Research Institute on Ageing & Ethnicity (University of Central England). He is the recipient of eight honorary degrees.