Deputy Patrons

The Lord Kirkham CVO

Lord Graham Kirkham founded DFS Furniture Company plc in 1969, in a disused billiard hall in Carcroft. It now has 75 stores nationwide. Graham is the Executive Chairman and his family has a 100% shareholding.

Graham was honoured with a Knighthood in 1995 and was elevated to the peerage in July 1999. He received the CVO in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2001.

He was made an Honorary Member of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1995, an Honorary Fellow of the Animal Health Trust in 1997 and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Bradford University in 1997. He received the Yorkshire Television accolade of 'Yorkshire Man of the Year' in November 2004.

Graham is married and has two children and five grandchildren. He became a Trustee in 1995. He is actively involved with many charities other than The Outward Bound Trust, including The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Sceme, The Animal Health Trust and The Blue Cross.

Sir Chris Bonington CVO, CBE

Britain's best-known mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington has led and been on 19 Himalayan expeditions, including four to Everest, which he climbed in 1985 at the age of 50, and has made many first ascents in The Alps and greater ranges of the world. He is also the author of 14 books and has presented and appeared in many relevant television programmes.

Amongst others roles, he is Chancellor of Lancaster University, President of LEPRA, President of the British Orienteering Federation, Vice President of the Youth Hostels Association and Life Vice President of the Council for National Parks. Sir Chris was a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust from 1997 to 2009. In 2009 he was appointed Deputy Patron.

Trustees

Iain Peter

Iain Peter is a qualified Mountain Guide with over 30 years of mountaineering experience. He has climbed and explored in many of the world's key mountain ranges and has made many significant ascents including Eiger North Face, Cerro Torre, Choy Oyu and Gasherbrum 2.

He has worked in the outdoors for most of his working life; firstly as a guide and instructor at Glenmore Lodge in Scotland and the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland. He was executive Secretary of Mountain Leader Training UK with responsibility for all mountaineering training and qualifications in the UK for 5 years.

From 1997 until 2006 he was Chief Executive of the Mountain Training Trust, a groundbreaking Charity which managed Plas y Brenin National Mountain Centre (in Snowdonia) on behalf of Sport England.

He is now a Director of Adventure Activity Associates Ltd and lives in Kingussie in the Scottish highlands.

Iain was appointed a trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in December 2006. He also chairs The Trust's Operational Risk Management Committee.

Ian Gowrie-Smith

Ian Gowrie-Smith was born in Australia and educated at Geelong Grammar and Melbourne University. His business career has focused on investing in opportunities in the private sector and then taking them to the public markets. Ian Gowrie-Smith moved to the UK in 1987 and is best known for having founded and chaired two listed companies in the pharmaceutical sector, Medeva PLC and Skyepharma PLC.

More recently his focus has returned to the mining, and oil and gas sectors, with exploration and production activities in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Zambia, through listed companies Triple Plate Junction PLC and Rift Oil PLC.

Ian was appointed a trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in September 2007.

John Spurling OBE

John Spurling's business interests include an advertising agency in East Africa and an insurance company in the UK.

John is a Trustee and Hon. Treasurer of The Animal Health Trust and Vice President of The Kennel Club Charitable Trust. He is also a Director of the National Coaching Foundation and of The London Marathon.

John was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in November 1999.

Peter Neumark

Peter Neumark is a Lancashire-born businessman. He has a variety of business interests but is best known for having started Target Express Parcels.

Today he has a wide range of interests, including the restoration company, Classic Motor Cars Limited, which he started twelve years ago as a hobby, and which has grown into one of the largest jaguar restoration companies in the world and has an international reputation for its work.

In addition, Peter also has extensive property interests and has been involved with various charities. He is an enthusiastic but average golfer but his main hobby and pastime is racing his extensive collection of historic sports cars and grand prix cars.

Peter was appointed a Trustee in October 2000.

David Hopkins

David Hopkins is the inaugural HSBC Chair in International Leadership, where he supports the work of iNet, the International arm of the Specialist Schools Trust and the Leadership Centre at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is also a Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Between 2002 and 2005 he served three Secretary of States as the Chief Adviser on School Standards at the Department for Education and Skills. Previously, he was Chair of the Leicester City Partnership Board and Professor of Education, Head of the School, and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Nottingham. Before that again he was a Tutor at the University of Cambridge Institute of Education, a Secondary School teacher and Outward Bound® Instructor. David is also an International Mountain Guide who still climbs regularly in the Alps and Himalayas. Before becoming a civil servant he outlined his views on teaching quality, school improvement and large scale reform in Hopkins D. (2001) School Improvement for Real, London: Routledge / Falmer. His new book Every School a Great School has recently been be published by the Open University Press.

David was appointed a trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in April 2008.

Louise Makin

Louise Makin joined BTG as Chief Executive Officer in October 2004 and she is a non-executive director of Premier Foods plc. From 2001, she was President, Biopharmaceuticals Europe of Baxter Healthcare, where she was responsible for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Louise joined Baxter Healthcare in 2000 as Vice President, Strategy & Business Development Europe. Before joining Baxter, she was Director of Global Ceramics at English China Clay and prior to that she held a variety of roles at ICI between 1985 and 1998. Louise has an MBA, and holds an MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Metallurgy from the University of Cambridge.

In 2006, 2007 and 2008 Louise led the JourneyMaker team to compete in the challenging 3 peaks yacht race ...winning the race in 2008. In parallel the team raised nearly £50,000 pounds for the Bendrigg Trust, an outdoor activities centre for disabled and disadvantaged children, to fund the JourneyMaker indoor climbing wall at the centre.

Louise became a member of the Lancaster University Management school advisory board in 2000 and became chair of the Board in 2005, overseeing a period of significant growth and success. She stepped down in 2010.

Louise was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in December 2011.

Ffion Hague

Ffion Hague graduated from Jesus College, Oxford University with a BA in English Literature and the University of Wales with an MPhil in Welsh Literature. She then spent six years in the Civil Service, joining the Welsh office in 1991 as a fast stream civil servant and leaving in 1997 from the post of Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales. For two and a half years, she was a Director of Arts & Business, a national business charity. She spent two of those years as Director of Operations, and was latterly Director of Policy and Planning.

Since 2000, Ffion has been a headhunter at board level across all sectors, and was a director of Hanson Green, a top-level non-executive search company, between 2003 and 2008. She currently freelances as a headhunter, mentor and board evaluator. Ffion has maintained her interest in literature and history and her first book was published in June 2008. The Pain and the Privilege is a biography of the women in Lloyd George's life and was published by Harper Collins.

Ffion has been a Director of the British Council, The Voices Foundation, Action on Addiction and the Woburn Centre for Conservation and Education. She is also a member of the LSO Advisory Board and the WNO Development Circle. Ffion joined the Barclays Wealth Advisory Board in 2007.

Ffion was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in October 2002.

Eric Worrall CVO

Eric Worrall is a trained schoolteacher who formerly taught in London comprehensives and for 10 years was a Youth and Education Officer in Kent.

From 1986 to 1998 Eric was Deputy Director of both The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and The Outward Bound Trust. During this time he was instrumental in founding the 'Charter for Business' group, consisting of more than 100 companies throughout the UK providing financial support to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Eric has been actively involved in fundraising for both organisations.

In 1998 Eric was appointed Commander of the Victorian Order and from that date moved to become consultant to The International Foundation of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, The Award itself, and fundraising consultant to The Outward Bound Trust.

He was appointed as a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in April 2006.

Dick Watson

Dick Watson was born in Stonehaven, Kincardineshire. He graduated in 1963 with a BSc in Civil Engineering and qualified as a Chartered Engineer. He is also a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Dick started his career with Taylor Woodrow. In 1971 he joined Terry Bramall at Bramall & Ogden, and the two of them went on to form Keepmoat in 1986, which went onto become one of the UK's leading regeneration and social housing specialists. Keepmoat has developed a programme whereby the company selects pupils from schools in its catchment area to take part in a week's course at our Ullswater centre. Pupils who demonstrate great potential are offered apprenticeships within Keepmoat. In addition, the company provided very generous in-kind support in 2006 by refurbishing residential facilities at our Ullswater centre.

Dick remained with Keepmoat for 36 years. He retired from the company in August 2007 following a management buy-out when Dick and Terry sold their respective stakes in the company.

Dick lives in Tickhill, near Doncaster. He is also Vice Chairman of Doncaster Rovers Football Club and likes to holiday in Scotland at his second home, near Perth. He has recently told us that in retirement his three main passions will be his family, his football club and Outward Bound®.

Dick was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in July 2008.

Rod Carr CBE

Rod has a Geology degree from Birmingham University but his passion for sailing took him to an urban sailing centre in North London and then to the National Sailing Centre in Cowes in 1975, where he became chief instructor four years later. His reputation for motivating and encouraging people led to his recruitment as Crew Boss for the 1981 Admirals Cup campaign.

Rod's talents came to the attention of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) in the early 1980s and they appointed him to coach the Olympic team for the Los Angeles games in 1984. He went on to coach the teams for the Seoul and Barcelona Olympics in 1988 and 1992 before being appointed overall team manager for the Atlanta games in 1996. He was appointed RYA Racing Manager and Performance Director in 1997. Rod was the architect of the RYA World Class Performance programme for sailing that has successfully attracted vital funds from the National Lottery to the sport and was asked by the BOA to be Deputy Chef de Mission for the whole of Team GB at the Sydney Olympics. Rod was appointed as the RYA's Chief Executive in December 2000 and will retire from this post in 2010.

Rod serves on the UK Sport Board, UK Sport Mission 2012 Panel and the British Olympic Association National Olympic Committee. He was awarded an OBE for services to sailing 2005.

Rod was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in December 2009.

Murray Lloyd

Following graduation from Gloucestershire University Murray has worked in the property industry for over 20 years. He currently runs his own property consultancy practise providing advice to clients from both the public and private sector throughout England on major development projects. These include the redevelopment of Wokingham town centre and the regeneration of one of the largest brown-field development sites in England close to Nottingham. Murray is primarily based out of Yorkshire but also operates out of Hertfordshire when working on South East based projects. He spends his leisure time by following sporting pastimes, with cricket being a particular interest. Murray has worked closely with The Outward Bound Trust since 2006.

Murray was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in February 2010.

Nicholas Buckworth

Born in Glasgow, Nicholas attended Dollar Academy before graduating from Dundee University with a degree in Law. In 1984, he began his career as a lawyer at Clifford Chance, where he remained for 12 years, during which time he lived in Singapore and Hong Kong. Following this, Nicholas became a partner with Milbank Tweed and in 1998 joined Shearman & Sterling, taking up the role of Global Head of the firm's Energy Group, in which he specialises in emerging market project finance. He is also co-head of the Shearman & Sterling Middle East and North Africa Group.

Away from work, Nicholas is a passionate skier and horse rider. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors, doing anything from climbing to mountaineering to simply walking the dog. His latest hobby involves being a frontman for a rockband! Nicholas is married and has three children.

He was appointed a trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in 2010.

Charles Philipps

Charles Philipps trained as a Chartered Accountant and then moved into investment banking. He was instrumental in the formation of Amlin plc, a publicly listed insurance group, of which he has been Chief Executive since 1999.  He has served on the Council of Lloyd's and was President of the Insurance Institute of London.

Charles enjoys adventure and has three children.

He was appointed a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust in December 2010.