About us

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Our Trustees

Jonathan Lewis, Chair of Trustees

Jonathan started his career as a Chartered Accountant with PWC before transferring to the Financial Services sector in 1995. After working in various roles in London, New York and Tokyo he became Chief Executive Officer of Nomura International plc in 2014, where he is responsible for the business in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has been a Trustee since 2017.

HRH Princess Beatrice

In March 2019 HRH Princess Beatrice joined our board of Trustees. Her Royal Highness is also Patron of a number of organisations and focuses the majority of her charitable work around children’s welfare and education, bringing a wealth of experience in these areas to Outward Bound.

David Hempleman-Adams

David was CEO of a chemical manufacturing business but his passion is exploration. He is globally recognised for his world records and innovations in mountaineering, polar exploration, aviation and sailing, and has supported many scientific expeditions in polar regions. David founded the Youth Adventure Trust in 1992 to enable disadvantaged young people to participate in expeditions, and Wicked Weather Watch in 2005 to educate schoolchildren about climate change. He is a retired trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and of St John Ambulance.

Youlande Harrowell

Youlande is an experienced senior leader having led several successful Sixth Forms across London, the Midlands and the South Coast in areas of high deprivation. She is Co-Director of Mindful Equity UK CiC in which she consults on matters surrounding racial and gender equity within education from primary through to higher education. Youlande was appointed a Trustee of The Trust in 2021.

Mark Baker

Mark worked for Outward Bound in the UK and the USA before several years at Plas -Y-Brenin, the National Mountaineering Centre. He led outdoor education courses at UCLAN and the University of Cumbria and was seconded as the National Officer for Outdoor Learning in Scotland. More recently Mark developed a hospitality business in the Lake District but retains his lifelong passion for the transformative experiences adventure can offer young people. Appointed a Trustee in 2024, Mark is Chair of the Operational Risk Management Committee.

Nick Sanderson

Nick is Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Great Portland Estates plc, having joined the Board in 2011. He started his career as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen and then moved into Real Estate Investment Banking, working across Europe and Asia with UBS, Lehman Brothers, Nomura and Deloitte. He has been a Trustee since September 2021.

Paul Voller

Paul works with clients on a wide variety of corporate, commercial, constitutional and charity regulatory issues. He has traditionally practised in the fields of private companies, charities and commercial banking, however in recent years his work has become more focused on corporate and commercial work in the charity and not for profit sectors. A former Trustee of CCHF, Paul joined The Trust's Trustees in 2018 when CCHF made a deed of gift to The Trust and ceased to exist in its current form.

Lynn Rattigan

Lynn has spent her career working in the professional services sector, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with BDO, followed by a decade at PwC, including an overseas secondment to Melbourne, before moving to EY where she has been a partner for over twenty years. Lynn was a member of both the EY UK LLP Board and Executive Management team for several years in her role as the Chief Financial and Operating Officer for EY in the UK and Ireland. Lynn is currently a Senior Client Serving Partner with EY working with some of the UK's largest Privately owned businesses. Lynn is a passionate supporter of young people and was a founding partner of the EY Foundation, a Charity that supports young people from low-income backgrounds get paid work experience, employability skills training and career guidance. Lynn has been a Trustee since March 2024 and is Chair of the Audit Committee.

Jo Hallas

Jo is a non-executive director of Smith & Nephew plc and until recently was Chief Executive Officer of Tyman plc, where cultural transformation and sustainability were key elements of the strategy. She has led businesses in the consumer, industrial and construction sectors, and lived and worked in Asia, the US and continental Europe. Jo is highly passionate about the Outward Bound ethos, having participated in a three-week course in her late teens and then worked as an instructor for Outward Bound in the early 1990s.

Helen Wright

Helen has been the Chief Financial Officer of Oxfam GB since February 2023. She trained at PwC and has worked on FTSE 100, private equity and owner-manager businesses and charities. In 2011 she became Director of Financial Governance at Save the Children International, before moving to Comic Relief in 2014 where she was Executive Director of Finance & Resources. Before joining Oxfam, she spent three years at Be the Business, a start-up with a mission to improve UK productivity. Helen has been a Trustee since June 2022.

Maureen McKenna

Also a member of The Trust’s Scottish Council, Maureen was a mathematics teacher in a range of secondary schools in the north east and west of Scotland. In 2000, she joined Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, where she inspected a wide range of schools as well as education authorities and child protection. She joined Glasgow City Council in December 2007 as Director of Education and retired in January 2022. Since retiring, she worked with Hertfordshire Council on inclusion. Most recently with London Violence Reduction Unit on the development of London’s Inclusion Charter which has involved linking with boroughs and schools across the city. Maureen received an OBE in 2015 for services to education in Glasgow and Malawi. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Heriot Watt University in October 2021 for services to education and raising attainment of those in the most deprived areas.

Leo Houlding

Leo is the modern face of British Adventure and one of the world's top climbers. He’s a veteran of a score of epic ascents, including Everest. Leo pushes the limits of exploratory adventure by taking the ultimate in extreme sports to the most extreme environments. Leo has become an ambassador for the younger generation of climbers and has been called one of Britain's top ten adventurers by The Telegraph. He became a Trustee in 2017.

Our Patrons

Our Deputy Patrons: Sir Chris Bonington CVO, CBE, DL, The Lord Kirkham KCVO