Trustee and governance

Andrew Beal is a seasoned senior executive with 28 years financial services experience. He reported at board level for many years and led diverse teams of highly skilled individuals in Asia, Europe and the US, working for blue chip companies including Schroders, Janus Henderson, Allianz and Deutsche Bank. Andrew left financial services in 2017 and now runs his own company providing coaching, mentoring and consulting services to senior executives.

Adam Whale is a Chartered Member of CIPD and is Director of People and Culture at Greenhouse Sports, one of the UK’s leading Sport for Development charities, where he leads the HR, Health and Safety, Facilities Management and Operational Support teams. Previously he spent 15 years working across Europe in the ski industry, both in HR and as a ski coach. He is passionate about the role sport plays in a fulfilling life and making this accessible to everyone. A lover of both the outdoors and a challenge, he now working his way through his bucket list of ultramarathons.

Anne-Marie Laing is a Fellow at the ICAEW and leads Deloitte’s Technology and Transformation practice for Private Equity. She is passionate about social change and whilst a Partner at Zolfo Cooper LLP and AlixPartners LLP created a charitable foundation which supported local small charities grow. She serves as Chair of the Resources Committee supporting the Charity through its journey to breakeven. Her professional career has covered multiple sectors, and she has acted for and advised a broad range of stakeholders to help transform businesses including the education and health and wellbeing sectors. Anne-Marie is a wife and mother to four boys and enjoys spending leisure time together with her family.

Carol has nearly two decades of experience in the awarding sector, culminating in serving as the CEO and Responsible Officer of Gateway Qualifications for the last 15 years, retired at the end of October 2024. 

Prior to leading Gateway Qualifications, Carol had a long career in education related employment, primarily in higher education institutions, focussing on instigating and leading business development initiatives linking higher education institutions to industry requirements.  Carol has an abiding passion for, and commitment to, vocational and technical education, with a strong belief in the empowering potential of learning, knowing from personal experience that it is the most valuable tool that can open doors and change lives for the positive.  Carol has a particular interest in the provision of learning opportunities for those furthest from learning or those who have been disadvantaged by life experiences, location or other factors.

Kevin is an experienced safeguarding professional, who started his safeguarding career as a Detective Sergeant working in Surrey Police specialising in manging various public protection teams. Kevin set up one of the first MASH (multi agency safeguarding hub) in the country and was also the first in the county to develop and put into operation digital monitoring for online sex offenders living in the community. This was later rolled out to other police forces and is now embedded into sex offender orders issued by the courts.

During his time as a detective Kevin worked on some notable high profile cases, which led him setting up the first Child Sexual Exploitation team in Surrey, working in close collaboration with other statutory agencies.

After leaving the police Kevin worked as a safeguarding consultant for a number of sports governing bodies and charities, which led to him taking on a permanent role with Swim England as ‘Head of Safeguarding and Welfare’. During this time Kevin led a change programme around safeguarding, which saw significant improvements in culture, process, resourcing and safeguarding case management, leading to improved outcomes for adults and children from grass roots to elite level sport.

Kevin has been formally recognised for his work around safeguarding receiving six police commendations and two national awards from Swim England.

As a senior health and care leader with significant executive board level experience, Liane is motivated by the power of people to bring their diverse experiences and talents to bear to achieve a shared goal. Liane now draws on her 28 years’ experience in her current role as Director of an international specialist management consultancy to bring people together, embracing and embedding innovation, understanding flow and unlocking and redesigning systems to enable that flow, eliminating waste and refocusing around improvement of quality through transformative or incremental change. She underpins this with strong strategic thinking and diagnostic skills combined with practical problem solving and creation of the infrastructure to enable continued improvement.

Liane is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Chartered Management Consultant and holds post graduate qualifications in leadership and management including an MBA.

Melissa Bryant is the Communications Lead for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, advising senior leadership on strategic communications and reputation management tactics to promote its climate portfolio. She has led media engagement at major global events such as the United Nations’ COP climate summits, and previously worked as a journalist and in the NGO sector. Originally from the Caribbean, Melissa has worked with migrant and diaspora communities in her spare time to provide mentoring and advice on adapting to life in the UK.

Stephen Varma is an experienced Chief Risk Officer with 25 years of working in global companies across industries like infrastructure, natural resources, and professional services. He helps organizations improve how they manage strategic, financial, and operational risks, leading to greater efficiency and better decision-making. Stephen is actively engaged on overseeing a multi-billion-dollar investment portfolio, focussing on finance, operations and compliance across African and Asian markets, with a strong focus on sustainable impact and climate resilience and adaptation.  Stephen holds an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Engineering from Brunel University.

Yusuf is a managing director at State Street in the financial services sector, where he has worked for over 14 years in a variety of roles within trading, fintech, governance and strategy. He has reported at board level for many years and led diverse teams in Europe, Asia and the US. In addition to his trusteeship with Central YMCA, Yusuf works closely with the charity Street League, which uses the power of sport to tackle poverty and give young people the opportunities they need to succeed in life and the workplace.

Yvonne has spent much of her career in senior and executive leadership roles within further education sector and has been a trustee on the Construction Industry Training Board, Creative and Cultural Skills, Royal Society Education Committee and Care City, as well as acting as an adviser on the Pearson FE Reference Group, Green Jobs Taskforce and SfL Construction and Higher-Level Skills Advisory Groups. Yvonne is a strong advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion and has a passion for ensuring young people and adults, particularly the most disadvantaged, have the access to opportunities to achieve their potential and transform their lives. Yvonne was a member of the WorldSkills UK Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group and Futures Youth Zone and was a contributor to the Pearsons report on the widening inequality gap post-COVID. A keen sportswoman, Yvonne now spends time enjoying fitness classes, as well as travelling and learning to play the piano.

Zulfi Hussain is a seasoned community leader and social entrepreneur with a strong commitment to fostering positive change in society. He has been awarded an MBE for his outstanding services to business and services to charity. With a wealth of experience in diverse sectors, Zulfi has worked extensively in promoting social justice, inclusion, and education. His passion for creating opportunities for marginalised groups is evident through his leadership in various initiatives. As a trustee of Central YMCA, Zulfi brings invaluable insight and expertise in governance, strategic planning, and social impact. He is dedicated to supporting the YMCA’s mission to inspire young people to reach their full potential and contribute to thriving communities.