Trustees and committees

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Board’s role is to set the charity's strategic direction, monitor the delivery of the charity's objectives, uphold its values and governance and guide, advise and support the Chief Executive, who leads the Senior Executive Team towards achieving the charity's vision and purpose.

The Board of Trustees is led by the Chairman, Bill Ronald.

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee you can read more about the role here.

The Board of Trustees, listed below, meets quarterly:

Bill Ronald (Chairman)

Bill has a family connection to muscular dystrophy and wants to play his part in ensuring the charity is efficient and effective in leading the fight against muscle disease. Bill currently holds a portfolio of non-executive Directorships with four businesses including the Retailer Halfords. Bill’s main career involved 23 years with the Mars Corporation where he became Managing Director of Mars UK and a Vice President of Masterfoods Europe. He was then Chief Executive of Uniq plc and is a former Deputy President of the Food and Drink Federation.

Mrs Sheila Hawkins

Sheila has worked in third sector organisations both in service delivery and managing national projects. She has experience of vocational education/training and workforce planning in NHS and is also a Trustee of various small charities. Sheila herself has FSH having been diagnosed more than twenty years ago. She was Chair of the FSH Support Group from 2004-2009, creating committees and developing SLA with MDC and was also a member of the Care and Research Committee from 2005-2010, and is a current member of the East Midlands Muscle Group. Her wish is to contribute to the strategic direction of the charity and to represent the experiences of adults with muscular dystrophy.
Mr David Hastie

David is currently an Executive Director at Onside Analysis Ltd. Previously he was a post-doctoral researcher at Imperial College and on the management board of Smartodds Ltd. He is also a member of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Fundraising and Development Committee and has run two marathons for the charity. David's brother Dr Jon Hastie is living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is enthusiastic about supporting the excellent work the charity currently does and would wish to help direct and build upon this using his skills and experience.

Mr Ian Gordon

Ian cared for his son who has muscular dystrophy and has now gone on to university. Ian has developed a career in human resources and recruitment consultancy. Ian joined the board in 2004 and brings business and personal experience.

Mr Robert Warner

Robert is a social worker specialising in childcare, including special needs. His family has raised over £50,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. He is based in Scotland where he is Chairman of the Scottish Committee. He is also a member of the Joseph Patrick Trust grants panel. Robert’s son was diagnosed with Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) in 1997 when he was three-years old.

Dr Peter Goodfellow DPhil FRS

Peter worked for many years as research scientist specialising in human genetics. He spent 13 years at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, studying human gene mapping and the genetics of sex determination. In 1992 he was elected as Balfour Professor of Genetics at Cambridge University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was also awarded the Louis Jeantet Prize for Medicine and Francis Amory Prize and holds a Doctorate in Science from Bristol University. In addition, Peter has spent 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry as Head of Discovery for SmithKline Beecham and Senior Vice President of Discovery Research at GlaxoSmithKline.

Mr Charles Manby

Charles is the Managing Director and Head of the European Communications, Media and Technology Group at Goldman Sachs International. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Charles was a commodities trader for Cargill. He is a member of the INSEAD UK Council, an advisory board member of NESTA Innovation Index and of the Media Standards Trust. He is also co-chair of the Campaign Committee at Merton College, Oxford. A friend of Mark Reynolds since they attended Oxford University together he and his wife have been invaluable members of the Q Trust Committee, which reached its £1 million fundraising target in 2010.

Miss Gwen Davies

Gwen has thirty-plus year's association with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign as an employee, Member and a Trustee, serving on several Trustee committees. She empathises with the needs, aspirations and frustrations of those living with muscular dystrophy and allied neuromuscular conditions and has a wide-ranging knowledge and experience of working with and supporting a National Charity. Her wish is to continue to offer her time, energy and experience to the charity in order to help ensure that it continues its positive drive forward to achieve its objectives.

Mrs Phillippa Farrant

Phillippa is the mother of a son of 18 who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of the severest neuromuscular conditions. She therefore has experience of what this condition means for both the person with the condition and also their family. Phillippa joined the Board in September 2010. She is an active campaigner for improved muscular services and has undertaken media work for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

Mr Andrew Graham

Andrew has a great deal of business and financial expertise and joined the Board in September 2010. He is Chief Operating Officer of the BVCA (British Venture Capital Association). Before joining the BVCA in 2008, he worked at Bank of America as EMEA Business Manager for two years. Prior to that, he was COO for ABN AMRO’s wholesale division. He has also been European CFO for the Bankers Trust and held senior roles at Deutsche Bank.

Professor Richard Hughes

Richard Hughes is Emeritus Professor of Neurology at King’s College London and Visiting Professor of Neurology at University College London. He studied medicine at Cambridge University and then at Guy’s Hospital Medical School. He was appointed Consultant Neurologist at Guy’s Hospital in 1975 and Professor of Neurology at what is now King’s College London in 1987. He joined the Board in September 2010.

Mrs Jemima Reynolds

Jemima has been a longterm supporter and joined the Board in September 2010. She says: "My first encounter with muscular dystrophy was more than thirty years ago when I met, fell in love with and subsequently married Mark Reynolds. Sadly, despite reassurances to the contrary (according to the medical understanding of the time) both our children, Charles and Emily, (now university-aged) were also born with muscular dystrophy. Like so many other similarly-affected families, we have always tried to put a brave face on our situation getting on with life as normally as possible."

Baroness Celia Thomas

Celia has limb girdle muscular dystrophy and is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Muscular Dystrophy. Baroness Thomas was made a Life Peer in 2006 and she has been a driving force behind the Walton Inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group. Celia had been head of the Liberal, then Liberal Democrat Whips' Office in the House of Lords between 1977 and 2005.

The Board of Trustees also act as Directors of the Company for the purpose of Company Law.

The Joseph Patrick Trust

The Joseph Patrick Trust (JPT) is the welfare fund of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Find out more about the JPT here.

Joseph Patrick Trust Panel consists of: