NCS is governed, delivered and supported by thousands of incredible, dedicated people across the country. The Board oversee all actions taken by NCS Trust, including our transition to a Royal Charter body, which took place in December 2018.
CHAIR
Brett Wigdortz joins NCS Trust with a wealth of knowledge from a career spanning policy, management consulting and educational reform. In 2002, he founded Teach First, which he led for fifteen years, building into one of the country’s leading movements tackling education inequality. Teach First is now the UK’s largest graduate recruiter, running an accredited world-class teacher training programme that supports more than one million children in classrooms across England and Wales. In 2018 Brett co-founded Tiney.co in order to improve childcare for parents, practitioners and children.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Mark joins NCS Trust as CEO having previously worked in several significant roles across the John Lewis Partnership and most recently as the Director of Shop Trade for Waitrose & Partners. As a people-oriented leader, Mark is adept at creating and nurturing high-performing teams focused on achievement with a notable example of included changing the way shops were run which drove a fundamental change in the operating model as well as improved productivity and enhanced Customer & Partner experience. Outside of work, Mark is a father and husband who actively engages in his local community as a Chair of Governors at a primary school and as a Safeguarding lead for a junior football club...he’s also proud to be called a Mancunian!
With a wide range of experience drawn from different sectors and backgrounds, our non-executive board oversee the delivery of NCS’ future objectives, including expanding our reach, delivering more impact and improving value for money. They also work with our Youth Voice Forum, ensuring the voices and opinions of young people are at the heart of everything we do.
Ian Livingstone CBE is one of the founding fathers of the UK games industry. He co-founded iconic games company Games Workshop in 1975, launching many hugely successful games. He was ranked 16th most influential person in the UK’s digital economy in the Wired 100 list in 2012. He chaired the Next Gen Skills campaign, working with government to introduce a new computing curriculum in schools in 2014. He co-authored ‘Hacking the Curriculum’ in 2017.
Tristram served as a tank and infantry commander in the Royal Dragoon Guards, retiring as a captain in 1997. He spent three years with Coca-Cola and GE Capital before founding Go Ape in 2002 as ‘Chief Gorilla’. Go Ape is a multi-award-winning forest adventure business operating at 50 locations across Britain and the USA with a vision to ‘create adventures and encourage everyone to live life more adventurously’. He is responsible for youth sailing at Bosham Sailing Club and is an alumna of Edinburgh University and London Business School.
Ndidi is a seasoned social advocate, passionate about youth voice and access to quality development opportunities for all young people. After working as a teacher and school leader for ten years, she spent six years as the Executive Director of Teach First, (the UK’s largest graduate recruiter) before joining Pearson PLC to lead on Digital and Customer Voice Strategy. Ndidi is currently the CEO of UK Youth, a leading charity with a movement of over 5,500 youth organisations, reaching 1.6M young people. She is a Board Director of the Mulberry Schools Trust, and CentrePoint U.K.
Ashley Summerfield has experience across a range of sectors, including finance, commercial property, marketing, sustainable technologies, commodities and private equity. Along with several colleagues, he co-founded Central Europe Trust with former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, a corporate finance advisory business specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. He currently leads Egon Zehnder’s global Board Consulting Practice, having been with the firm for more than 20 years. Ashley has an MA from Cambridge University and an MPPM from Yale University and volunteers as a biology teacher for Teach First/Teach for All.
Nick served as a Member of Parliament for 14 years before standing down in December 2019. During that time he served three different Prime Ministers and held several ministerial roles including Minister for Civil Society. He is a lifelong Member of the Privy Council and continues, on a voluntary basis, as the UK Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Grenfell. Before politics, Nick spent 18 years in the private sector, divided between investment banking and the development of young growth businesses. Nick is a Chair and Senior Adviser to a number of companies and campaigns that are looking to make a positive social or environmental impact.
Laura left the executive team of a global social enterprise to join the civil service in 2015, attracted by the opportunity to help deliver the Government’s English Devolution agenda. She brought with her fifteen years of skills and policy expertise from charity campaigning and commercial lobbying in London and Brussels, including a stint at one of the UK’s biggest membership charities, Art Fund. Laura is now the Deputy Director for Arts and Libraries in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport having first joined the department to run the 2019 Spending Review. Under her leadership the Strategy team recently coordinated the 2020 Spending Review and multiple Budgets, as well as supporting the department’s efforts to secure covid recovery funds, such as the £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund. Laura is the Co-Champion of the department’s Social Mobility Network, an issue about which she is passionate.
Jacquie is an educational leader having worked in education for over 20 years. She is currently Head of Department and Head of Year 11 at a West London Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) where she is responsible for pastoral and career needs of students in their final year of statutory education. Jacquie is passionate about ensuring young people have access to educational tools to improve and enhance their further education and future work opportunities. Jacquie has strong links with her local community and serves as a Referral Order Panel Member with the Harrow Youth Offending Team. Jacquie also serves on her local Safer Neighbourhood Panel.
Deborah started her career with Legal & General and has held executive roles in Williams & Glyn Bank, Resolution, Swiss Re and General Electric. She has experience in a range of leadership roles covering Human Resources, Communications, Governance, Legal and Operations and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. Her career has always been guided by a belief in the importance of creating organisation cultures that value the whole person, whether colleague, customer or client. Deborah now works independently as an executive coach and management consultant. She also serves in a Non-Executive capacity as a trustee on the board of United Response.
Amanda has dedicated her career to improving access to opportunities so that young people have the tools they need to lead fulfilling lives. She currently leads digital skilling education for Google, enabling opportunity by creating relevant and engaging content and programming. As part of her role she founded and leads the global apprenticeship programme. Before Google Amanda spent fifteen years in education charities in the UK and the US, working to develop and equip teachers and leaders to make an impact towards educational equity. Amanda started her career teaching primary school in Compton, California and worked at both Teach For America and the Los Angeles Unified School District in southern California. She holds an MsC in Voluntary Sector Management from the Cass Business School.
Darren Xiberras is currently Chief Financial Officer of Cardiff University and a member of the University Executive Board. He is a Trustee of the Difference Education Limited which works to reduce exclusion from mainstream schooling and was also a co-opted member of the National Citizen Service audit and risk committee from 2019 to 2022. He brings a wealth of experience in finance, previously holding the post of Chief Finance Officer at the University of South Wales and at Teach First. Darren sits on the Executive Committee for the British Universities’ Finance Directors’ Group (BUFDG) and trained as an accountant with South Wales Electricity PLC.
Hannah has recently begun studying a PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology following the completion of her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Sports and Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology, respectively. Hannah participated in and completed the NCS programme in 2014 and has been an advocate ever since, representing NCS at commemoration centenary events for the Battle of Passchendaele and Armistice Day, to working as a Wave Leader for her local delivery partner. Outside of work, Hannah enjoys volunteering for local charities and has a season ticket for Everton.
Lamin is a student at University College London, where he is studying History, Politics, and Economics. He also chairs and advises on a variety of youth boards and panels, encompassing youth work, economic policy, and employability. In his role as an advisor, he aims to act as a link between organisations' critical work and the communities they serve. As a member of the Bank of England Youth Forum and the Chair of the London Academy of Excellence Alumni Board, he has developed the capacity to not only communicate, but also to provide practical solutions to the vast spectrum of challenges that young people face. Lamin intends to better integrate the voice of youth within NCS Trust as Co-Chair of the YVF and ensure that each member has a valuable experience.
