Patients painting with watercolour paints in the temporary Day Care Unit as part of their art therapy sessions.

Our Trustees

Our Board of Trustees is made up of a number of experienced individuals who ensure that our hospice operates effectively and that we achieve our charitable aims.

Meet the Board

Julian Schild MA ACA

Co-Chair

Julian studied Modern History at Pembroke College, Oxford, before completing his articles at Coopers & Lybrand. He subsequently worked as Group Finance Director of Huntleigh Technology PLC, one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of medical equipment, before serving as its Chairman. He served as chairman of ABHI (Association of British Healthcare Industries) from 2006-7.

Julian was a Non-Executive Director for TelecomPlus PLC until 2022 having served as Deputy Chairman and Chair of the Audit Committee. He has held various board roles in the private and charitable sectors. He is an active investor in medical device startups and mentors young entrepreneurs. He is also currently an Advisory Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford and chairs the College’s Finance and Planning Committee.

Julian has had a connection with St John’s Hospice since 1997 and was appointed as a Trustee in 2008. Julian is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee (having previously chaired it), Remuneration and Nominations Committee and was appointed as Vice Chairman in 2022. He is currently Co-Chair of the Board.

Professor His Honour William Morris

Co-Chair

William was, until his retirement, the Resident Judge of the Crown Court in Bolton, and was appointed Honorary Recorder of Bolton by the town's local authority. William took his degree at Cambridge University where he studied law and fine arts. This range of studies mirrors the broad spread of his interests which include art, leading to his having an art gallery in Bolton. His career in law led to him becoming a judge in 1995. In 2008 he received an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Laws) (LLD) from the University for his outstanding contribution to law. In 2012 he was appointed as an (honorary) Professor of Law by the University. He has served as a University governor since 2012 and has chaired the University governing body since 2020.

William has been a Trustee since 2020 and sits on the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. He is currently Co-Chair of the Board.

Richard Ritchie

Trustee

Richard spent his business career at BP, where he was Director of UK Political Affairs. After that, he was a part-time, voluntary advisor to the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference (2010-16). He has written on politics, including 'Without Hindsight' published in 2018 and various other political articles. He is also a professional actor and has written the official history of the oldest dramatic society in the world (The Old Stagers, Canterbury Cricket & Theatricals published in 2015).

Richard became a Trustee in 2013. He currently chairs the Ethics Committee, Church Committee and is a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee.

Alda Andreotti

Trustee

Alda held the position of Group Supply Chain Director for the Arcadia Group, with additional responsibility for Risk, Fraud and Loss Prevention, Audit, E-commerce, Customer Care and Sustainability, from 2000 until the company’s closure in 2021. In addition, Alda was Chair of Trustees of the Group’s Pension Schemes. The pensions role has continued, post-insolvency. Alda served as a Governor and then as Chair of Governors of Worth School in Sussex for 18 years and since 2021 has been an Advisor to the Abbot’s Council and was appointed as a Trustee of Worth Abbey in 2023.

Alda became a Trustee in 2016 and became Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee in 2017. She is also a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Francis Fitzherbert-Brockholes

Trustee

Francis read PPE at Oxford and then qualified both as an English barrister and as a member of the New York Bar. He joined the international law firm, White & Case, in 1978 and became a partner in 1985. He retired from the firm in 2021 but still has links with it as a Retired Partner of Counsel.

During his career, Francis represented banks and other private and public entities and sovereign governments in various financial transactions, with particular emphasis on their activities in the international capital markets. He received many professional honours, including the award for Legal Innovation in Financial Services in the 2009 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards and has also been recognised as a "Super Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters and as a "Senior Statesman" by Chambers, as well as being included in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame.

Francis is a trustee of a number of charities (including The Oratory School Society Foundation and The Brampton Trust), is a past President and a Patron of The Garstang & District Agricultural & Horticultural Society and is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Astana International Financial Centre. He is the Chairman of the Claughton-on-Brock Parish Council and of the parish’s Finance Committee. Francis is currently the President of the Lancashire branch of the Country Land and Business Association and sits on the CLA’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. With his wife, Jennifer, he manages the Claughton Hall Estate and Claughton Longhorns LLP. Francis became a Trustee of the Charity in 2020.

Bishop John Sherrington

Trustee

Bishop Sherrington was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Hilta in 2011. Bishop Sherrington has responsibility for the pastoral care of the parishes and deaneries of North London and is Moderator of the Curia and a Trustee of the Diocese. He is Chair of the Governing Body of Mater Ecclesiae College. Within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, he is a member of the Department for Social Justice with responsibility for life issues since 2014, and a member of the Education Department since 2022. He is a member of the governing body of the Anscombe Centre, Oxford. Internationally, he is a member of the Overseas Seminary Committee.

Bishop Sherrington became a Trustee in 2019 on nomination of the RC Archbishop of Westminster.

He is also a Trustee of the Pontifical Beda College and Venerable English College in Rome, and a Trustee of the Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain.

Simon Lawless

Trustee

Simon is a former investment banker with over 30 years’ experience, focused on the Capital Markets side of the business.

Drawing on his banking experience, understanding of financial markets and the dynamics of risk, Simon assists senior management of organisations in delivering the right strategy, within an acceptable boundary of risk. His experience has been applied to the educational sector, as a former Governor of a GDST school in London, an ESL business in Asia, the healthcare sector in London and financial services in UK & Ireland. Recently, Simon completed the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme at Said Business School, University of Oxford, to make sure that his management and leadership skills are effective and efficient, so as to create value in today’s complex and dynamic marketplace.

Simon became a Trustee in November 2016 and serves on the Finance & Audit Committee, the Remuneration and Nominations Committee and chairs the IT Sub Committee.

Norbert Reis

Trustee

Norbert is a former investment banker looking back on a 35-year career in senior roles in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity and capital markets at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Carlyle Group and HSBC. He has extensive experience in emerging growth as well as mature industries in IPO’s, financings, restructurings as well as mergers and acquisitions.

After obtaining his Economics degree in Germany, he joined the Boston Consulting Group in Munich and co-founded the pHGroup in London, an early-stage database organization in the 1980’s, before joining Morgan Stanley in New York.

He first became a Trustee in 2010-2014 when he moved to Germany and returned in 2019 to chair the Finance & Audit Committee.

Peregrine Towneley

Trustee

Peregrine has worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years, both as a broker and an underwriter, an employee and an owner. He started out as a graduate trainee at Sedgwick before spending time overseas.

Peregrine was appointed Chairman of Marsh Middle East North Africa in April 2019 and moved to BMS Group as Chairman BMS International from November 2020.

Peregrine became a Trustee in September 2021 and is a member of the Finance & Audit Committee and Ethics Committee.

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