Event Information

Stephen Howard LVO is Chair of Power to Change, an independent charitable trust, which he joined after retiring as Chief Executive of Business in the Community, after 11 years in post. Stephen brings a wealth of senior management experience in the corporate and charitable sectors.

He has held a number of executive and non-executive roles including Chief Executive of Cookson Group plc and Novar plc. His other current roles include: Chairman of Thames Reach; Trustee, Big Society Trust; Director, Big Issue Social Investments Ltd; Trustee, American International Church; and Director, Thanda UK.

Angela has extensive experience of leadership, governance, communication, change management, stakeholder engagement, and high profile events and personnel.

She was CEO of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Director of VSO UK, and Head of Nations and Regions at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. 

Prior to these roles she has a background in communications and stakeholder management, largely working in the public sector and also in consultancy. She was a Director of Communication at Millennium Commission and at the Electoral Commission, and worked at a senior level on projects such as the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and on public inquiries.

She is currently working as an independent consultant advising on organisational set-up for delivery, governance and philanthropy.

Kate read Classics at Oxford before completing management training with Total Oil GB and a London marketing consultancy. She worked in Europe (Belgium and France), and has further degrees from the Open University and Sheffield Hallam University. She returned to Leeds to work in senior cultural posts at Axis, Yorkshire Culture, and Opera North. 

Kate joined Leeds Community Foundation as Development Director in 2015 and has been instrumental in making the Foundation what it is today – the largest independent grant-maker in Leeds which has, to date, distributed over £33 million in grants to a range of community projects, primarily in Leeds.

In January 2018, Kate was appointed Chief Executive and continues to guide the Foundation towards its vision of creating a city of opportunity for all.

Malcolm Lynch is a partner in our charity and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Malcolm is a partner at Wrigleys and head of the Charity and Social Economy Team.  He is a charity commercial lawyer and was an executive committee member of the Charity Law Association until June 2013.  He qualified in 1983.

Malcolm advises a wide range of local, national and international charities on charity law and relations with the Charity Commission, charity trading, fundraising, legal structures, social investment, social enterprise, mergers and governance. He is known for his lateral thinking and innovative approach to clients' problems. 

He is recognised by the National Legal Directories, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, as an expert in Charity Law.  He is a trustee of Leeds Youth Opera. 

Sylvie is over 18 years qualified and is a partner at Wrigleys in our charity and social economy team. She advises on a wide range of charity law matters, including the establishment of charities, trustee duties and governance, restructuring, trading issues and setting up and running trading subsidiaries, fundraising and commercial participation, charity law considerations for religious organisations, issues concerning heritage charities (particularly stately homes), Gift Aid and general advice on tax-efficient giving (and anti-avoidance provisions), public benefit, issues facing schools, cross-border issues, disputes involving charities and mergers between charities.

Sylvie is recognised as a first tier charity lawyer (band 1) in the national legal directory Chambers & Partners and as a ‘leading individual’ in Legal 500. She is a member of the Charity Law Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Ecclesiastical Law Society, and is trustee and/or honorary company secretary of a number of charities and sector bodies.

Clare Lawrence is a partner in the charities and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Clare has a background in trust law and advises on a wide range of charity law matters, including: the establishment of charities; trustees' duties and governance; serious incidents; charity mergers; trading; fundraising; and cause related marketing. She has particular expertise in establishing and advising corporate foundations and in advising charities on their interactions with the Charity Commission.

Clare is a member of the Charity Law Association and Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is also a Dementia Friend.

Peter advises charities, their trading subsidiaries, public bodies, other not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises. His areas of work cover advising charities and social enterprises on:

• Raising social finance, including in relation to share and bond issues and other debt and equity investments.
• Structural transactions such as mergers, reorganisations and joint ventures.
• Operational matters including commercial contracts, data protection, intellectual property, agreements for services, subcontracting and funding arrangements.

Peter is a member of the Charity Law Association. 

Sue is a partner within our charities and social economy team at Wrigleys

Sue advises charities and other not for profit, voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises on all aspects of employment law including strategic issues involving TUPE and restructuring.

Sue has experience of advising on severance packages and on senior executive service agreements. She also represents employers throughout the Employment Tribunal process.

She manages Wrigleys HR Response, our telephone and email employment law helpline for charities including academies and independent schools.

Joanna Blackman is an associate in the charities and social economy team at Wrigleys

Formerly a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, Joanna started her career as a fund manager, working for a number of years for fund management firms in London and nationally before re-training as a solicitor.

Joanna advises charities, their trading subsidiaries, and social enterprises on a wide range of charity law and other legal matters, including providing governance support and trustee training, advising on registrations and constitutional amendments, and structural transactions such as incorporations, mergers, and asset transfers. She has a particular interest in the health and social care sector, and specialises in advising almshouse charities and other charitable organisations with permanent endowment and complex or special trusts.

Joanna is a member of the Charity Law Association and is recognised as a Recommended Lawyer by the Legal 500 directory. She is also a trustee of a Leeds based charity which assists young people who are experiencing financial hardship by providing grants to support education and training.

Duncan joined Wrigleys in 2016 from his previous post as Director and Head of Charities and Social Enterprises for a regional firm of solicitors. With over 20 years' experience in the sector, Duncan advises trust-based and corporate charities primarily on governance issues. He is a trustee of a number of charities, including St George's Crypt, Leeds. He is a trustee of the Real Junk Food Project and has in the past run his own 'surplus food cafe'.

Claris is a consultant working with Wrigleys’ clients nationwide.  Claris qualified as a Barrister in 1994 and has been advising charities for over 20 years. Previous experience includes working as a lawyer with the Charity Commission and as an in-house legal adviser for a registered charity, where she gained invaluable experience at the “coalface”.  Claris advises on a wide range of charity law issues including charity formations, incorporations, mergers and collaborations, trustees' powers and duties, public benefit, rationalising funds, handling and reporting serious incidents, governance reviews and dealing with the Charity Commission.

Claris has over eight years experience as a governor a charity trustee of a large charitable independent school and is currently a governor of an all-through academy school with 1300+ pupils. Claris has been on Bursary Campaign Committee for over 9 years which seeks to promote social mobility and she is also part of a task force looking into equality and diversity issues.

Claris regularly speaks at and chairs conferences about charity law and practice issues for the voluntary sector, lawyers and other professionals. She has written articles for amongst others Charity Finance, Third Sector and the Bursars' Review.

Hayley is an associate within our charities and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Hayley qualified into the team in September 2017, having trained at Wrigleys. Hayley has experience working with a range of organisations across the voluntary sector. In particular, she advises on legal structures for charities, social enterprises and not for profit organisations; incorporations, mergers and assets transfers; and intragroup relations between different organisations in the same structure. She also advises on general governance, including trustee and director duties, and regularly provides trustee training sessions.

Hayley is a member of the Charity Law Association and a trustee of a local dance charity.

Nick Wayne has over 35 years’ experience as a business owner specialising in putting together marketing strategies, design, advertising, digital marketing, etc. for a variety of sectors and size of businesses/organisations in the public, private and third sectors.

Nick sits on a number of boards including the Leeds City Centre Partnership Board, Yorkshire Asian Business Association advisory board, he is a non-executive director of Studio 81 – Independent TV and Film Production facility and is a Patron of the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal.  Nick is also a Trustee and Marketing Advisor to the Yorkshire College of Music & Drama.

Nick provides monthly 1 to 1 surgeries at the Unity Business Centre to the 80 tenants resident there along with specific marketing / business workshops.

Nigel Cork has over 30 years business experience including senior management/board level roles and establishing three start-up companies.

In recent years, Nigel has harnessed this experience, both the good and the not so good, to help organisations run more effectively.  He does this by utilising proven strategic thinking frameworks that involve the key individuals of an organisation to identify and build a consensus as to where they currently are, devise a clear strategy for the future, and create a set of action plans for successful implementation.

Nigel also provides business coaching, organisation outsourcing support, individual redundancy support, recruitment process consulting, competency-based interview training and sales training.

Having worked across the corporate sector, Nigel predominantly works with social enterprises, charities and small businesses.

Malcolm Hall has 34 years of experience with a major commercial bank, the last 13 years in a senior management position. Malcolm’s latest role involved the leadership of teams, management of people, assessment of businesses and project management.

Malcolm served a 1-year secondment with Business in the Community as a Business Connector in South Leeds in 2015-16. This role allowed him to build a detailed knowledge of that community, the issues that are prevalent and how voluntary and charitable organisations meet the needs of their community. Malcolm was also able to apply his commercial experience to assist a number of third sector service providers and to provide access to businesses that are prepared to help.

Recently, Malcolm has worked with the Sporting Memories Network to agree plans that will see that organisation grow their outreach and deliver sustainability. In particular, Malcolm is leading a project to develop social franchising within the Sporting Memories organisation.

Malcolm is resident business coach at the Unity Business Centre in Leeds, offering monthly coaching support sessions to the tenant businesses there.