The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), established to help ex-Service personnel and their families make a successful and sustainable transition back to civilian life, has appointed five new Directors to its Board: Ross Campbell, Anaїs Reding, Nick Roberts, Robert Robson and Andrew Ward.

Ross Campbell is the Director, Public Sector at the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) where he leads the Institute’s work to improve standards in the management of the Public Finances, both in the UK and internationally.  Before taking up his current role at the ICAEW, Ross was the accounting policy lead and financial reporting standard setter for the UK Central Government at HM Treasury.

Anaїs Reding is Head of Engagement at the Government Digital Service where she leads work to support departments to build citizen-centric services quickly and cost-effectively through the use of cross-government platforms. Previously Anaїs worked as a senior strategy advisor for the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet Office. Before joining Government, Anaїs worked for the policy research organisation RAND Europe where she specialised in Security and Defence.

Nick Roberts is President of SNC-Lavalin’s Engineering, Design and Project Management sector. He is responsible for the company’s infrastructure engineering and design services around the world, with the exception of activities in Canada. Prior to his current role, Nick was Chief Executive Officer of Atkins’ business in the UK and Europe, focusing on strategy, organisational agility and rapid innovation, driving change across the organisation particularly around the fusion of the digital and physical environment.

Robert Robson joined The Royal Navy as a General List Seaman Officer in 1981. He joined Barclays plc in 1987 and over a 20-year career held a variety of senior management roles in the UK and overseas before returning to the UK as COO of the International Private Bank. He became the first CEO of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity in 2008. He is a Director of Cobseo and Veterans Scotland and a Member of the Mary Rose Trust.

Andrew Ward works in the Barclays investments business, focussing on governance, contracts and external commitments. Andrew is a Solicitor and he practised in City law firms Stephenson Harwood and Freshfields before moving to Barclays as an in-house counsel. Within Barclays Andrew has held legal leadership roles across the Barclays Group. Andrew then moved from Barclays Legal into the business line, initially in the leadership team of the Barclays global trusts and corporate services business including joining the boards of Barclays trustee entities, before moving to his current role.

Ray Lock, Chief Executive of FiMT, said: “The purpose of FiMT is to enable all ex-Service personnel and their families make a successful and sustainable transition back into civilian life.

“We warmly welcome the new Directors to FiMT and are extremely grateful for the voluntary time and effort they are committing to our mission.  As we develop our influence strategy to deliver the impact we seek, we want to ensure that the body of evidence we fund, reaches the policy makers and service providers we need to make the necessary improvements to the transition pathway.  The skills and experiences that our new Directors bring will add to the Board’s already substantial capability, and we are excited to be working with them.”

For more information on the new appointees to the Board of Directors you can find it here www.fim-trust.org/about-us/the-board/

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Note to Editor:  Ray Lock is available for interview. To arrange please contact Tina McKay, Communications Officer at FiMT on co@fim-trust.org or on 07956 101132 or 0207 901 8916.

About the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT):

FiMT came about from a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (‘the Fund’), Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities and organisations. FiMT continues the Fund’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK with an endowment of £35 million awarded in 2012. http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/.

The mission of FiMT is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life, and it delivers this mission by generating an evidence base that influences and underpins policy making and service delivery.

FiMT awards grants (for both responsive and commissioned work) to support its change model around 6 outcomes in the following areas: Housing; Employment; Health and wellbeing; Finance; Criminal Justice System; and Relationships. All work is published in open access and hosted on the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre’s Veterans and Families Research Hub. A high standard of reportage is demanded of all grant holders so as to provide a credible evidence base from which better informed decisions can be made.

Useful links

Website: www.fim-trust.org

Reports: www.fim-trust.org/reports/

Who we have helped: www.fim-trust.org/who-we-have-helped/

Twitter: @FiMTrust

About the Mental Health Research Programme: www.fim-trust.org/mental-health/research-programme/