At our October board meeting trustee Steven Skakel stepped down after eight years.

The board and staff team at BCT want to thank Steven for his very committed service over those years.

Steven was one of our non-family trustees, recruited in particular for his knowledge of Birmingham. As the Trust does not have a base in Birmingham but still has significant historic ties to the city, having a trustee ‘on the ground’ there is important to us.  Steven was always willing to attend events of our partners in the region and offer his support. He also worked with our Director of Programmes on strategic relationships in the city.

Steven was wholly committed to the good governance of the Barrow Cadbury Trust and served as our Lead Trustee on risk for the past six years, both helping and challenging the Executive Team in the continuous updating of our Risk Register.

With an almost unbroken attendance record, Steven was always well-prepared and thoughtful, very usefully bringing his perspectives from many years in the corporate sector, when most of our trustees are in the third or public sectors.  He truly understood the balance a board should strike between support and challenge of the executive and we will miss him greatly.

Erica Cadbury
Chair of Trustees