Tim became chairman of Benefact Trust in January 2020, having been a trustee on the Board since 2016. He has had a long career in the financial services industry with significant London Market and Lloyd's experience, including roles as CEO of Swiss Re's UK holding company, CEO Europe of GE Insurance Solutions and President and CEO of GE Reinsurance Inc in the United States. He has held a number of industry positions, including chairman of the International Underwriting Association, President of the Insurance Institute of London and Master of the Insurers’ Livery Company. He currently holds a number of Non-Executive directorships in the insurance industry.

Carrie has decades of strategic leadership experience evaluating organisations and advising executives and boards globally. She held senior roles at firms including Morgan Stanley and KPMG, where she supported the growth of the strategic and commercial due diligence practice. Her expertise was key as Deputy Chair of ExPat Foundation, where she tightened strategy and enhanced due diligence around grant applicants. Carrie worked with Praesta Partners, then founded her own firm, providing leadership strategy to global teams and boards. Carrie holds an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School, a BA from Wellesley College, and multiple accreditations in team and board dynamics.  

Francois-Xavier Boisseau has more than 30 years’ experience working in the insurance industry, 25 years of which in the UK. He was CEO of Insurance Ageas (UK) until December 2018. Prior to that Francois-Xavier was CEO of Groupama and CEO of GUK Broking Services as well as being Non-Executive Chairman of Lark, Bollington and Carole Nash. In addition to his board position's at Benefact Trust and Benefact Group, Francois-Xavier is also Chairman of IQUW Syndicate Managing Agency Ltd.

Appointed as a Benefact Trust trustee in March 2020, Paul retired after 40 years as a Methodist Minister in 2022. He most recently served as the Chair of the Lancashire District of the Methodist Church. Previously, he served in five circuits in Lancashire and the Midlands, and, for many years, served as a superintendent minister. Within his ministry, he has always been interested in how Methodist property can best be used to fulfill the church’s calling for Worship, Service, Learning and Evangelism. For the Connexional Methodist Church, he sits on the Board of Trustees of Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP) and is Chair of the Connexional Manse Committee. Paul is a member of Benefact Trust’s Grants Committee. Paul enjoys regular visits to the gym, cycling and walking.

Ian is a leading banking and financial services expert with a specialism in insurance, with over 20 years’ exposure to global financial products and markets at a senior level. Ian's reputation as an industry expert follows a series of consistent successes at the global banking market leader, HSBC with previous roles including Chairman and Non-Executive Director at HSBC Life Insurance, China. Ian is also a Trustee for A Rocha UK, the conservation charity, and a Volunteer Consultant at Pilotlight, which connects ambitious charities with business leaders.

Appointed to the Board in June 2024, David is also a Trustee of Benefact Trust (appointed in October 2022). He is also a Non-Executive director of The R&A Group and a Trustee of The Fairtrade Foundation. He is a former Trustee of Christian Aid Kenya and until December 2023, was a member of the Advisory Panel to The Financial Reporting Council. A solicitor by background, David was a partner for 24 years in Herbert Smith Freehills, a global law firm based in London, practicing in corporate finance, board advisory and governance matters.

Patrick was appointed to the Board in June 2023. He joins with 30 years’ experience in the asset management business, initially as an investment consultant with BARRA RogersCasey in America and then in positions including senior portfolio manager and chief investment officer with AllianceBernstein and Jetstone Asset Management in the UK. In addition to his board position at Benefact Trust, Patrick is also an independent non-executive director of Nikko Asset Management Europe Limited and a certified financial coach.

Nick joined the Trustee Board after over 40 years in the investment business. He spent 17 years as an asset manager with Baillie, Gifford and then Baring before switching to investment consultancy with Mercer where he held various senior positions in a 20 year career. Since 2000, he has also been an asset owner, as a Church Commissioner for 12 years, and then Trustee Chair of the Oxford University Staff Pension Scheme for a similar period. He is currently Chair of the Investment Committee of the National Trust, sits on two other investment committees and is Non-Executive Chair of a pension fund investment manager.

Denise is a Chartered Accountant with significant industry experience, predominantly in financial services, having held senior finance roles at EY, Barclays, RBS, RSA and Good Energy Ltd.  She has helped to support sustainable, profitable growth, both organically and through M&A and to strengthen governance and oversight.  Most recently she was Group CFO and Executive Director for Benefact Group, before retiring from her executive career in June 2024.

She has been a non executive director / trustee since 2012 for a number of purpose led businesses including MacIntyre Charity and Skipton Building Society. She is currently a Non Executive Director at ITM Power plc, Julius Baer International Ltd and Chairs the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committees for the broking and asset management divisions within Benefact Group. In October 2024 she was appointed Chair of MacIntyre Academy Trust, a multi-academy special education trust and a Trustee / Director of Benefact Trust. 

Helen has over 15 years’ experience in the charity sector having worked at both St Albans Cathedral as Head of Operations and more recently at Hertfordshire Community Foundation as Foundation Director. Helen’s earlier career included roles at both CMS Cameron McKenna (a top ten city law firm) and Baker Tilly (a national accountancy firm) where she was a Regional Business Development Manager. Helen is a Lay Member of St Albans Cathedral's Chapter where she volunteers regularly. Helen is passionate about addressing inequalities and ensuring grant funding effects positive social change.

Sue joined Benefact Trust in March 2021 and oversees all the Trust marketing and communications activity. She plays a key role in building the Trust brand and leading its marketing and communications forward, working closely with Hannah Filmer and Alice Morris. She has worked in many areas of marketing such as brand, strategy, digital and content marketing for many years, both agency side and client side. Sue says: “It’s enormously fulfilling to be working with a passionate group of people dedicated to supporting those most in need, the beneficiaries we work with never cease to amaze me.”

Amy joined Benefact Trust as Head of Grants in October 2022.  She has held several grant-making roles in the UK heritage and cultural sectors, most recently as Head of Grants for Historic Environment Scotland, and previously at the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and British Council.  Amy is experienced in designing and delivering grant programmes that help deliver impact for people and communities and brings a deep understanding of the challenges churches face in caring for and adapting historic buildings.

Andrew joined Benefact Trust in November 2019 having spent the previous 25 years working for a number of charities in Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Cumbria. He spent much of the last 7 years supporting charities, churches and community groups in South Cumbria to identify and successfully apply for funding. During the floods in Cumbria, Andrew was amazed by the support and resilience shown by churches and their congregations to pull together to support their affected communities. Andrew is the Benefact Trust's Senior Grants Officer for the North of England, Scotland and Ireland and looks forward to working with churches and communities in these areas.

Paul is the Trust’s Senior Grants Officer covering Wales, the Midlands and the South and South West of England. Commenting on his role Paul says “since taking on this responsibility my eyes have been opened to the tremendous amount of great work being done by volunteers, both in churches and charities, and the impact this is having for good on the lives on individuals and communities. It is a huge privilege to be able to contribute to this in some small way.”

Lisa Joined Benefact Trust in May 2023 as Grants and Impact Officer. Lisa studied law at university and comes from an operations background, previously working as Operations Manager at Garfield Weston Foundation. Lisa has a strong interest in grant making and how a strategic approach can demonstrate impact and inform grant making for the future. Lisa says: “I feel extremely grateful to be able to work for the Benefact Trust, who support brilliant charities & churches doing such important work in our communities”. In her personal time Lisa is involved in the netball community, playing or umpiring. She has qualified as an England Netball B Award umpire and sits on the England Netball Disciplinary Panel.

Jo joined Benefact Trust in May 2023 as Grants Officer, responsible for London and the South East. Jo spent over 25 years working for a variety of good causes as a professional fundraiser. She has held leadership positions in several national charities, developing and delivering fundraising strategies across all income streams. The opportunity to continue supporting people and places through effective grant-making has been a long-held dream of Jo’s. She says: “The breadth and depth of work that Benefact Trust supports is so impressive, and it is an honour to work with our beneficiaries (of all faiths and none). Having spent many years raising money for charity, I have huge empathy for the people/organisations seeking support from Benefact, and hope to help them achieve good things!” In her spare time, Jo is a local Churchwarden, enjoys gardening and is kept in check by two retired greyhounds.

Usman joined as a Grants Officer in November 2020 on a fixed term basis. He previously worked in a number of sectors including law, publishing, grants assessing and in local authority. In his personal time Usman enjoys watching sport, is interested in religions, history and geopolitics and enjoys spending time with family and friends. Usman is responsible for the regions of the East of England, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber.

Iain has been the Grants Administrator for the Trust since 2005 and is generally the first point of contact for enquiries and anyone wishing to make an application for funding. Speaking about his role Iain says "It is always a pleasure to receive heartfelt thanks from grant recipients no matter how large or small the grant may have been."

Danielle joined the Trust in July 2024 bringing over six years of experience in the grants sector to her role as Grants Operations Assistant. Previously, she worked at Kent Community Foundation, where she supported applicants through the grants process, reviewed applications, and played a key role in implementing and testing a new database system. Danielle is excited to leverage her expertise to assist Benefact Trust applicants and team, contributing to the support of communities across the UK and Ireland.

Alice joined Benefact Trust in March 2020 and is responsible for raising the profile of the Trust with engaging content on our website and social media channels. A journalism graduate with a background in marketing and communications, Alice is passionate about storytelling and sharing the amazing projects we support with others. Alice said: “I joined Benefact Trust at the beginning of the Coronavirus lockdown, when there was a lot of uncertainty and worry in the world. Being able to share stories of our continuing grants and how they have helped communities throughout the pandemic has been a really positive and touching experience. I feel very proud to continue to share our work and the light it brings to many communities.

Joining Benefact Trust at the beginning of 2024, Dexter will be supporting the team to execute their marketing and communications over the next year as our Graphic and Multimedia Designer. With a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Design, and more recently a Master of Arts in Service Design from the Royal College of Art, Dexter brings a fresh perspective and a host of skills to compliment the Trust’s marketing team. In Dexter’s own words, “I’m excited to support Benefact Trust’s marketing team in promoting our incredible beneficiaries and the wonderful ways they continue to help communities in need”.

Tyra joined the Trust in October 2023. Led by Sue Jenkins and working closely with Alice Garwood and Hannah Filmer, Tyra is responsible for increasing the awareness and profile of the Trust predominantly through its social media channels. Having graduated with a Master of Arts in Political Communication, Tyra is keen to share news of the Trust by combining her background in communications with a natural creative flare. Regarding her role, Tyra said: “I’m extremely excited to see our community grow through social media and all the other work our team produces. It is my mission that every church and Christian charity knows about the Trust and knows that they can come to us not only for grants, but also for advice and resources”.