Governance and Management
The Governance of Age UK Hounslow is in the hands of our Non-Executive Trustees, who bring a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to the organisation through their membership of the Board of Trustees of Age UK Hounslow.
We are grateful to them for their valuable and completely voluntary support.
You can see the Charities Commission guidelines for Trustees here
Working with the Board of Trustees, our Chief Executive Officer carries the responsibility for the Management of the organisation.
Age UK Hounslow - Trustee Responsibilities
Age UK Hounslow currently has 3 trustees. Trustees meet at least 10 times per year and in practice about once a month. At trustee meetings, trustees consider a report presented by the CEO who attends all meetings and make decisions relating to matters of finance, HR, premises, retail and other business matters.
Between meetings, trustees are circulated with weekly reports as well as with other relevant documentation and liaise and where necessary make decisions, generally using email, on matters not sufficiently serious to require consideration at a meeting or where there is a degree of urgency. Each Trustee meeting has full minutes with actions recorded and followed through.
The Chair of Trustees is informed and involved in all major aspects of the business. The Trustees do take specific areas of responsibilities in line with their skills basis:
Oliver Segal - Legal and HR and acts as a befriender to an older person
Grahame Reynolds - Legal and Retail
Mac Downes
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Taught in Hounslow for 25 years including 12 years as a Junior and Primary School Headteacher. Following early retirement has worked in the Voluntary Sector for the past 23 years. This has encompassed various roles.
Managed a homeless Charity based in Waterloo
Fundraiser for various charities- mainly in S. London
Various spells as Grants Officer (South East London Community Foundation- now London Community Foundation; Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network; Sir Walter St Johns Educational Charity) - also served on various grant panels
Accredited Social Auditor (via Church Urban Fund) - conducted audits for parishes in Southwark Diocese and extensive Community Audits across deprived areas in Wandsworth
Outreach Manager for Wandsworth Older People’s Forum- helping groups set up and supporting their fundraising needs. Running workshops within Sheltered Housing Schemes to ensure older people have access to information and a voice regarding the health & social care they receive.
Retired from the above post and all paid consultancy work in May 2016.
Currently a Trustee of Cicely Northcote Trust (CNT) - grant giving in Lambeth & Southwark and offers voluntary support for groups funded by CNT.
A former member of the Local Patient Participation Group and LBH Working parties scrutiny panels.
Married to Chris, a retired horticulturalist and a continuing creative artisan. Two sons and four grandchildren.
Oliver Segal
Trustee
Oliver is an employment law barrister (a Queen’s Counsel) at Old Square Chambers. He was called to the Bar in 1992.
He is also a part-time employment law judge (since 2014 at the London Central Employment Tribunal), and a qualified mediator on the CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) Panel.
He has extensive knowledge of all areas of employment and contract law.
He is a Befriender to an elderly member of Age UK Hounslow.
He is also Chair of Trustees of YESS (Your Employment Settlement Service).
Oliver is married to Lesley, lives in Brentford and has 2 children.
He practises and teaches meditation, and is an expert bridge player.
Grahame Reynolds
Trustee
Grahame is a solicitor who has gone full circle with regard to Hounslow, having trained here in the mid-1970’s he joined Lovell Chohan Solicitors who are based in Hounslow, some five years ago.
He specialises in Private Client Law, this covers, amongst other things, Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Probate and Court of Protection applications. He also deals with both commercial and property transactions.
He has been involved in various community projects for over 40 years and is currently a Trustee of a charity that assists both adults and children who are on the autistic spectrum and is legal adviser to a small family charity that provides assistance to both mentally and physically disabled children.
Vinal Karania
Trustee
Vinal is a social policy researcher, public policy economist and policy specialist who has always been a resident in the London Borough of Hounslow. He worked as a Civil Servant for a decade, across various departments and policy areas, before moving to Age UK National where he has been supporting the organisation with research & evaluation to inform, influence and improve the lives of older people.
He has sat on a number of advisory & steering groups; most recently the Government’s Loneliness Technical Advisory Group and the UKRI funded Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Network Advisory Group.
He is also currently a trustee at the Charity Evaluation Working Group, and was previously a trustee at Inspire Hounslow.
The Chief Officer
Kimberley Anderson
Chief Officer