Board of Trustees

Helen Taylor Thompson, MBE
Co-Founder & BRDF Trustee, Chair

Since 1952 Helen has been involved with Mildmay Mission Hospital and more recently started a charity Thare Machi (The Starfish Initiative).
As well as being chair person at CAN, Helen is involved with several other charities.

For a full biography, see our Founders page

John Shute
Secretary for both the BRDF and Mezzanine2 Trustees for CAN.

John has thirty years in the international oil industry followed by five years in the third sector. Various project management roles including work on the Waterloo Mezzanine, London Bridge and Loman St Mezzanines. Inaugural Director of Mezzanine2 limited.
John is currently Project Manager of the Archway Project, a youth motorbike charity based in Thamesmead, where the main challenge is a turnaround role.
John is also the Director of Atlas Industries, an architectural outsourcing company based in Vietnam.

Robin Pauley
BRDF Trustee

Robin Pauley is BT's President of European Affairs. Robin joined BT as Group Communications Director in November 1999 after a long career with the Financial Times. He was responsible for BT's external and internal communications, public affairs, media relations, brand, and social policy. He is BT's race champion and a member of the Group Equality and Diversity Forum. He is a member of Business in the Community's Race for Opportunity Board in the UK and a Corporate Trustee of the Tate museums.
Previously, Robin worked for five years as Asia Editor for the Financial Times. He became deputy managing editor in 1990 and managing editor in 1994.
In 1998-99 he was instrumental in establishing a new newspaper in Germany, the Financial Times Deutschland, which launched successfully in January 2000.

Tim Curry
BRDF Trustee

Tim is an accountant. He has worked for Ernst & Young since leaving university and in addition to looking after clients, he has held a number of management positions, including Head Of Human Resources and Global Chief Knowledge Officer.
Tim is also a board member of Kaleidoscope Project and Kaleidoscope (Kingston) Housing Association
He lives in Richmond and is married with two children aged 20 and 17.

Olu Olasode MSc BSc MBA IPSM FCCA
BRDF Trustee

Olu is an experienced turnaround and change agent and has delivered on major projects across the public, private and third sectors, and holds a number of ministerial and public appointments. He is a Commissioner and the Chairman of Audit & Risk Committee for the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and Chairman of the Audit Committee for Bromley NHS PCT.
He also serves as non-executive director for Bromley PCT and was previously Chairman of General Performance and Advisory Panel Member with DCLG’s Beacons Panel (formerly ODPM), and former Chair of SLFHA Housing Association.
He is an experienced accountant with a track record of achievement in a number of diverse roles including: chief executive of voluntary organisations and director of finance and performance management for a key independent healthcare provider.

James Alexander
Mezzanine2 Trustee

James Alexander joined CAN as Business Development Director, coming in as highly an experienced communications director and having had a long career with Burmah Castrol plc.

Tracey Reddings
Mezzanine2 Trustee

Tracey Reddings is the Executive Director, Charity Financial Services for Chartiies Aid Foundation, where she is responsible for overseeing all CAF’s charity-facing business. She is Chief Executive of the banking subsidiary, CAF Bank Ltd, and investment activities, which have combined funds of over £1.7 billion under management.
Tracey has also been a charity representative on the Managing Committee of Charity Investors’ Group since October 2004, and was recently appointed as a non Executive Director of Charity Business.
Tracey has 20 years' financial services industry experience working formerly with Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations and Barclays Bank plc.