Board of Trustees
What is a Board of Trustees?
In 2005 Leeds University Union reviewed its governance structure. Governance is defined as:
"...the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation."
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Leeds University Union reviewed its governance structures for two reasons:
- In response to best practice in the voluntary sector
- Due to a change in legislation of the Charities Act.
Under the Charities Act all students' unions have to become charities and thus are regulated by the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission takes an interest in, amongst other things, the make up of Boards of Trustees and likes to see a good mix of skills and experience to ensure that the Board of Trustees is able to oversee the work of the charity.
Although our Student Executive Officers are people who are passionate about the work of LUU, they did not necessarily have the skills and experience necessary to oversee the running of an organisation with a turnover of £9m+ and over 400 staff.
How did the Board of Trustees come about?
Draft proposals were drawn up and put out to consultation. The final proposals were then put out to referendum in March 2007. Over 2,200 students took part in the vote and over 90% agreed with the proposals for the creation of this Board of Trustees.The proposals took effect from 1st July 2007.
The paper that went to Union Council in January 2007 explains the background and proposals in more detail. Read the paper online at www.luuonline.com/downloads/unioncouncilpaper07.pdf.
Who are the Trustees?
The Board of Trustees consists of:
- The six Student Executive Officers who are elected each spring, by our members, and are the key representatives for LUU in addition to being trustees
- Four appointed student trustees
- Four appointed external trustees (co-opted)
The Six Student Executive Officers:
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Four Student Trustees
Paul Dodds
Currently: A 2nd year postgraduate student, School of Earth and Environment.
Previous Experience: Paul has had experience working in various roles including: working on reactor safety and economics in the nuclear power industry, and has worked on farm water issues in Australia.
Paul has been a Union Academic Rep for the past year and has actively encouraged postgraduate involvement in the Union. He is committed to making the Union an important part of life for members and a rewarding and stimulating place to work for staff, and brings a range of financial and management experience to his role as a Trustee.
Mathew Fong
Currently: A 3rd year medical student. He is the President of the Medical Students Representative Council and is also of Miralink Corporation.
Previous Experience: Matthew has been involved with the Awards Assessment Committee of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award for a number of years, and has also served Rogers Communications as an Advisory Council Member.
Matthew is an active member of the Canadian Ski Patrol System where he has served as a District Supervisor. Actively involved in aquatics, Matthew has managed aquatic programs within the Canadian Arctic.
Julie Laxton
Currently: A part-time MA student studying Work-Based Learning at LUBS (Leeds University Business School).
Previous Experience: Julie has a BSc in Biochemistry and a Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics.
She has worked in the health service for many years and has experience as a clinician and as a senior manager in the area of training and development. Julie's skills knowledge and experience are very broad and she possesses very good "people skills".
As a teaching fellow at the University of Leeds for the Faculty of Medicine and Health, Julie is also closely involved with students, particularly whilst on placement, and has a passion for the health and well-being of students.
Julie has also been a volunteer as part of Bradford Housing Shadow Trust Board.
Ellie Russell
Currently: A student at the University of Leeds studying Politics and Parliamentary studies.
Previous Experience: During her studies at Central Sussex College, Ellie was the Students' Union President and Student Governor. She then went on to be Vice President (Further Education) of the NUS for two years.
Ellie wanted to be involved in LUU because she passionately believes in role students' unions can play in the lives of students both individually and collectively.
Four External Trustees
Naomi Cohen
Currently: A consultant working for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with 20 years' experience in senior communications and marketing roles across the voluntary, public and private sectors.
Previous Experience: A former student officer of Sheffield University's Students' Union and member of the NUS National Executive, Naomi has been a founder, trustee and committee member of several charities and has recently joined the board of the Internet Watch Foundation as a non-executive director and trustee.
Naomi studied for an MBA and a first degree in psychology and began her career with various roles in the voluntary sector covering human rights, mental health and environmental issues.
Ralph Coyle
Currently: A partner of Rollits solicitors based at its York office
Previous Experience: A graduate of the University of Leeds, he is a former Legal Director of Yorkshire Television and Company Secretary of Canal Plus International, part of the French pay television group. He was a board member of Leeds Media between 2001 and 2006 and currently chairs the steering group of Leeds Independent Studios which is active in building up a regional TV and film drama production hub.
Ralph has extensive experience in advising commercial, charitable, educational and other organisations across the region on a wide variety of legal matters. He is a trustee of Scarborough Museums Trust.
Henry Fenton
Currently: Retired, Henry now divides his time between voluntary work, family commitments and overseas travel. He serves as a Magistrate at Manchester City Magistrates' Court, one of the busiest in the UK and additionally sits on review courts, monitoring the rehabilitation of drug offenders that are under Probation Service supervision.
Previous Experience: After an extensive career in the Retail and Home shopping Industries Henry took early retirement in 2006 to pursue other interests. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge resulting from Senior Management roles and Directorships with blue chip companies including Great Universal Stores, Mothercare and Grattan.
Simon Palmer
Information to follow shortly
Additional Member of the Sub-Committees
Andrew Berman
Currently:Andrew is a Chartered Accountant working in an executive role in a central London property investment and development company.
Experience: Having achieved his accountancy qualification, Andrew spent several years working in corporate recovery and investigations at a 'Top six' accountancy firm, but since 1999 his career has been focussed on the property and real estate sector, working at senior levels in both listed and unlisted businesses.
A graduate of Leeds University and former sabbatical Financial Affairs Secretary of LUU, Andrew also served a full term of office as a member of NUS Conference Steering Committee. He has also acted as treasurer of a number of charities, and has experience in the financial accounting and reporting issues which they may encounter.
Andrew's undergraduate degree was in Chemistry and Management Studies, and since commencing work, he has acted as a Head Teacher's mentor through the Business in the Community initiative, while also regularly volunteering in a local old age home.
What do the Trustees do?
"Think of LUU as two halves..."
- One half is LUU as the representative voice of students; ensuring our members' voice is heard within the University, locally and nationally.
- The other half is LUU as an organisation; the part of LUU that provides services, runs the building, employs the staff.
The Board of Trustees deals with the organisation half. It would only get involved as a representative voice if that part of the organisation were to do something to threaten the reputation/ finances/ legal standing of LUU. The representative voice of LUU is dealt with by Union Council and referenda.
Members of the Board of Trustees do not get involved in the day to day running of LUU; that is left to managers and staff. Their role is to oversee the work of the organisation, and set the direction. The Trustees have ultimate liability for LUU.
The authority of the Board of Trustees is set out in the Articles of Governance. These were voted on by students when the Board was created. The Board of Trustees is keen to be transparent and, in order that students know the kinds of things it talks about, the meeting reports will be online (see 'Board of Trustee Meeting Reports' below) after each meeting. The Board of Trustees will also make a quarterly presentation to Union Council on its work.
What do the Sub-Committees do?
In order to assist the Board with its work there are three sub-committees. The sub committees look into aspects of the Board of Trustee's work in more detail. They are:
1. Audit and Risk Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive and the Director of Resources. The remit of the Audit and Risk Committee is to ensure that the Union complies with all relevant laws and regulations and that an internal system of accountability is formally set up, to review and consider appropriate methods of controlling the Union's activities (financial and otherwise), and to analyse and manage the Union's overall risk profile. The members are:
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| Paul Dodds | Simon Palmer | Andrew Berman |
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| Laura Mcfarlane-Shopes |
Click on each of the member to find out more information about them.
2. Remuneration and HR Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive, the Director of Resources and the HR Manager. The remit of this committee is to agree amendments to employee policies, to approve the Union wide pay award and to agree the pay award for the Chief Executive. The members are:
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| Henry Fenton | Jessica Parker | Maryam Ahmad |
Click on each of the member to find out more information about them.
3. Appointments Committee
This committee is supported by the Chief Executive.The remit of the Appointments Committee is to take delegated responsibility on behalf of the Trustee Board for identifying, and proposing Student Trustees and Co-opted Trustees and for their induction, support and development. The members are:
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| Naomi Cohen | Ralph Coyle | Mathew Fong |
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| Danny Adilypour | Rob Damiao |
Click on each of the member to find out more information about them.
