Meet the Trustees

Since joining Yorkshire Water in 1982 Dave was involved in many aspects of water and environmental management until retiring in 2013. His roles included river flow and level measurement, telemetry, instrumentation and control equipment installation and maintenance. He is a chartered Electrical Engineer. From the creation of the National Rivers Authority, he held a range of management roles. Leading teams undertaking data collection and dissemination, environmental protection and flood defence.

From 2006 to 2013 Dave was the Executive Manager for London which included being responsible for the Environment Agency’s engagement with the Thames Gateway, Olympics, Super Sewer, and was Project Executive of  T21000, the project identifying how London could be protected from Tidal flooding until the end of the century.

Nowadays Dave is kept busy as our Chairman, but finds time to enjoy walks with family along his local river, the Lea.

Les started his career in local government working for Glamorgan County Council, Slough Borough Council and the London Borough of Harrow. He went on to hold senior management positions in Thames Water and was Regional General Manager of the National Rivers Authority Thames Region. In 1996 he joined Worldwide Fund for Nature where he was Director of Finance, Deputy Chief Executive and for a time Chief Executive.

Latterly Les pursued a portfolio career working for Haysmacintyre as their Charity Consultant, leading the Charities Consortium and the Honorary Treasurers Forum and Hon Treasurer of several charities including the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. He was also a Board member of a Reading Clinical Commissioning Group.

Les is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.

Tim was appointed as a Trustee in 2023, shortly after retiring following a long career with Deloitte, the world leading professional services firm. After graduating in Physiology and Biochemistry, Tim started his career in Agriculture and worked in this industry for 10 years, before studying for a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). He joined Deloitte in 1995 as a Management Consultant and built his career specialising in large scale and complex transformation, project, and programme management. He has advised on some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects in transport, water, and defence sectors.

He advised and managed Deloitte’s services supporting the delivery of the London 2012 Olympic Games. In his last 5 years with Deloitte, he was the CEO of Deloitte Consulting in the Middle East where he lived with his family in Dubai and worked with many clients across the region.

Tim is passionate about the River Thames and the Thames Valley environment. He was brought up in Cookham in the Mid Thames, has been a keen rower in the past rowing at Maidenhead, Wallingford, Oxford, and Reading University Boat Club. He remains a member of Leander Club Henley. He was a keen angler as a young boy and has recently taken up the sport again now that he has returned to the UK living with his family once again in the Thames Valley.

Tim was voted in as Chairman in October 2024.

Benedicta (Ben) has a love for the environment and wanting to be a good ambassador for environmental matters has made her conscious of the fragile world that we live in.

She currently works for the charity Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. Her place of  work is alongside the river at Blackfriars so she is always close to the wonderful Thames and frequently reminded of how important our waterways are for transport, leisure and wildlife.

Prior to joining Nesta Ben was a civil servant and worked in the project delivery function at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Ben has previously worked for Associated British Ports (ABP) – the UK’s largest port operator and started her career at the Environment Agency.

Ben has two children who keep her very busy. Living just a stones throw from the River Thames Ben and her family and enjoy walking, running and cycling on the Thames path! Ben loves to dance and enjoys a bit of shopping now and again!

Ian joined as a Trustee in 2023, shortly after retiring from Highways England where he headed up the Programme Management Office responsible for Highways England’s biggest project, the Lower Thames Crossing. Prior to that he held other senior leadership positions in Royal Mail, Transport for London and the Ministry of Justice. These covered a wide range of roles including marketing, PR and sponsorship, business development, transformational change, and strategic planning.

Ian has long held a passion for science and environmental protection. After gaining a biological sciences degree at Durham University he went on to do a PhD in plant pathology, sponsored by Shell UK. He also has other professional qualifications in direct marketing, business coaching and horticulture.

Besides acting in a voluntary capacity for TRT, Ian acted as the chairman for Cheam LTC for several years where he brought about a transformation of the club’s facilities and boosted membership numbers. He is currently an affiliate of the Sutton MAPS programme which is a scheme designed to provide mentoring support for young people identified as vulnerable. Ian’s other interests and commitments include angling, football, gardening, and being the property manager for 3 rental properties.

Nigel has considerable experience of wildlife conservation, river restoration, natural flood management and water quality issues after 13 years as CEO of Surrey Wildlife Trust and more recently as CEO of the River Thame Conservation Trust –  a tributary of the River Thames.

These appointments also included a number of voluntary roles:  E.G. as a Board member of the Surrey Hills AONB and the UK Deer Initiative and as a Non-Executive Director of UK Deer Management Qualifications.   He also has a long background in organisational management and leadership and was a riparian landowner on the River Swere in Oxfordshire for nearly 30 years.

Now retired, Nigel’s first career was as a British Army Officer (20 years) where he served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and  various parts of the UK.  This was followed by 10 years as  as a Director of the Blue Cross Veterinary Charity,  where he specialised in equine / racehorse welfare and was an Associate Member of the British Equine Veterinary Association.

Nigel lives in on the Oxfordshire/ Northamptonshire border close to the River Cherwell.  He has a grown up family that include a Doctor and a Royal Navy Officer.   In his spare time he can be found racing his Flying Fifteen sailing dinghy on Draycote reservoir in Warwickshire and on the Solent or fly fishing on nearby trout lakes and rivers, where he takes a close interest in conservation, local wildlife and water quality.

Lou  has over 20 years’ experience as a senior manager, director and independent consultant in the not-for-profit sector, His experience includes developing funding applications for large scale programmes, operational management and mergers and acquisitions of charities.  In 2017, Lou formed Nfp Consultancy working with charities and social enterprises, utilising his strengths in transformational change, strategic planning, business planning, and programme delivery.