Our Leadership Team
Chief Executive Officer: Michael Garrett
Michael joined Age UK Coventry as Chief Executive in August 2017 and helped with the formation of the newly merged Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire in April 2019. He spent nine years at the University of Birmingham Guild of Students where he held responsibility for a range of commercial services including a lettings agency.
He also led a number of student welfare programmes and organised large scale engagement and social events.
Prior to this, Michael spent three years within a Council for Voluntary Services in Staffordshire and almost 15 years in the Citizens Advice service in south Wales and the Midlands.
He holds a degree in Economics & Sociology, obtained an MBA in 2010 and is a qualified management coach.
His interests include golf and running and has run the London Marathon for the charity.
Director of Operations: Emma Arnett
Emma started working with Age UK Coventry in 2016 , where she was General Manager before moving to Age UK Warwickshire in 2018 and supporting with the merger of the two charities.
Emma has worked with services providing support to older people for nearly 20 years, having previously worked for a large housing association providing housing, care and support to residents.
In her current position, Emma mainly oversees the back-office functions of the charity- covering Governance, Health and Safety, HR, IT Quality and Administration- but she is also passionate about the front- line services the charity provides. Emma works with the approach that it takes the entire charity to provide excellent client and customer services and therefore, in order for Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire to provide those high - quality services, there must be excellent internal support.
When not directing operations, Emma spends time with her husband, son and daughter and their two cats.
Director of Services: Reece McLarnon
Reece joined Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire in November of 2021 as the Services Manager and became Director of Services in 2024.
Reece had planned to work in a science field and structured his education around this plan. Things soon changed when Reece found an interest in service/project management after leaving his role working within the laboratories at UHCW and starting a new role at Severn Trent. Prior to working for Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire Reece worked for the NHS where he managed the Phlebotomy service across Coventry and Warwickshire, and included Queens Hospital in Burton on Trent.
Working in a Services role allows Reece to exercise the analytical side of his brain, which comes from maintaining a keen interest in science and how things work, whilst being able to work in a person centred way thanks to his contact with members of his team and the service’s clients.
Away from his Director of Services role Reece’s main interest is sport, mostly football and F1, but would happily spend time watching any other sport, providing it’s competitive!
Head of Finance: Samantha Humphray
Sam is the new Head of Finance for Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire working Wednesdays and Fridays.
For the other days she is Head of Finance for Age UK Birmingham where she has been in the role for the past 2 years.
Previously, Sam was CEO of Age UK Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest where she spent four years, 3 years as CEO. Sam was originally recruited as Finance Manager but even during her time as CEO she also did the Finance role.
Sam has a passion for numbers, hence why she is working within Finance and she is really enjoying her roles.
Sam also enjoys walking -especially discovering new walks with Friends- and travelling. Her favourite country to visit is Italy. Sam loves the culture, the historical sites and the people. Sam's main role as Head of Finance, is to maintain high standards of financial controls for the charity and present timely and accurate management information to the CEO and Board of Trustees.
Head of Retail: Asher Deakin
Asher joined AUKCW as our Head of Retail in June 2022 after 10 years working in the neighbourhood -orientated world of convenience retail. Asher is passionate about community retailing. He recognises the importance of our charity shops, not just for the surpluses they generate for the charity, but also for the valuable links they help to develop within the communities they serve.
Asher will tell you that he is in the people business, and as such, will always champion those who ensure our charity shops are community shops: our customers, our colleagues and our volunteers.
There’s no escaping that Asher is an operator through and through and therefore loves being hands on – trying to pin him down long enough for a meeting can be a challenge at times, although he always has time for a brew!
Outside of work, Asher is a happy and helpful husband and a passionate parent. He and his family are heavily involved in their local church - in Redditch - where they have lived for over 10 years. Asher serves both on the Leadership Team and leads the Children & Families Ministry.
Services Manager: Karen Foley
Karen joined Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire as Services Manager in July 2023 and will be overseeing Money Management, Home Support and I&A services.
Karen has spent the last 19 years working in the charity sector, with her background in direct payments, money management and Appointeeships and she holds a HND in Business and Finance.
Prior to this Karen worked in the car industry.
Karen's main interests are yoga, escaping to her caravan, her husband, 4 children and 2 step children as well as her favourites- her 2 dogs.
Services Manager: Jade Tomlinson
Jade joined Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire in November 2020 as an Admin assistant before becoming a Practitioner within the Money Management team. She has learnt a lot within her time in the Money Management Service at Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire such as how the benefit systems work and also how to support a wide variety of clients both in the community and in care settings to live as independently as possible through the help of managing finances and building relationships.
Jade has a passion for people and enjoys helping others whether that is in the workplace or outside of the working environment. Prior to this Jade worked for a manufacturing company in sales and as a warehouse manager.
When not at work, Jade enjoys travelling, food and spending time with her partner and dog.
Central Operations Manager: Nicola Costa
Nicola started volunteering with Age UK Warwickshire in 2012, supporting older people as a receptionist and through the Information and Advice service. When her children went to secondary school, she increased her hours, becoming an Age UK employee within central administration whilst also continuing her volunteering for the then merged Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire.
Nicola had a brief period of employment at the University of Warwick but couldn’t stay away from Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire for long, re-joining the organisation in 2022. Nicola continues to manage the central administration operations and in 2023 took on the additional role of lead for marketing and fundraising.
Before having children, Nicola worked in the education sector as a teacher of science, and head of biology in secondary schools. More recently, she has been a parent governor of a primary school and chairperson of a local pre-school.
Nicola grew up in Wiltshire, studied at Cambridge and Oxford Universities and now lives in Leamington Spa with her husband and two children. She enjoys reading, travelling and the theatre.