Dr Titilola Banjoko, Chair
Dr Titilola Banjoko currently works as an Executive Managing Director in the NHS. She has a clinical background. She successfully pioneered the formation of AfricaRecruit and FindaJobinAfrica.com aimed at harnessing human resources and social capacity in Africa. She serves on the council of the Royal African Society and she is a Trustee of Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET). Currently she serves as the chair of the board for the Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development (FORWARD). She is a Fellow of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative and the co-convener of the Better Health for Africa Initiative.
She previously served on the many boards which include: the European Commission–United Nations Joint Migration and Development Initiative, the Department for International Development, the Global Poverty Action Fund Advisory Board and the World Health Organisation’s Health Worker Global Policy Advisory Council. She was also a Senior Research Associate at the UK’s Foreign Policy Centre and board of the Commonwealth Business Women’s Forum. She is regularly invited by the mainstream media to discuss issues on topical news items, speak as a panellist, and chair high level stakeholder events. In 2006, she was named as one of the Prides of a Continent: Africa’s gifts to the world. She has received numerous awards and endorsements over the last 10 years. In 2019, she was recognised by the Nigerian Healthcare Professionals UK as one of the 70 most Outstanding Professionals in the United Kingdom. She is passionate about supporting and giving a voice to the voiceless and serving humanitarian causes.
Ciarán Donnelly
Ciarán Donnelly is Senior Vice President, International Programmes at the IRC’s headquarters in New York. He previously served as Vice President of Programme Quality, and in leadership positions in Burundi, Uganda, Afghanistan and the D.R. Congo. An Irish citizen, Ciarán holds a B.A. in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Pavia, and post-graduate degrees from the College of Europe and the University of Cambridge.
Cressida Pollock, Chair of the People & Culture Committee
Cressida Pollock is the former Chief Executive at English National Opera, one of the UK’s leading performing Arts organisations. During her tenure at ENO she brought her business and financial expertise together with her turnaround experience from outside the sector to a complex and highly challenged organisation. Cressida's previous background stems from her wide ranging interests in improving organisations, including her tenure at McKinsey & Co. At the age of 24 she was a founding partner of Somerset Capital Management, an Emerging Markets focused investment fund. That investment company today has grown to manage over $10bn under assets.
She has twice taken time out of her career to work directly with NGOs and non-profits: first at Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity in London, and then as an advisor at the Zambian Ministry of Health where she developed national healthcare policy for the Minister. Cressida holds an MBA from MIT Sloan where she graduated at the top of her class. She holds an MA in Law and Classics from the University of Cambridge and is a qualified Barrister and member of Lincoln’s Inn.
Francesco Garzarelli, Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee
Francesco Garzarelli is Head of Macro Research at Eisler Capital. A graduate of the London Business School and Bocconi University, Francesco sits on the Italian Ambassador to the UK Independent Advisory Board, is a member of Chatham House, the Society of Business Economists and the Parish Council of St Mary’s Church in Hampstead. He supports Into University – a UK Charity.
Henriette Kolb
Henriette leads the Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory (SIA) Group at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which is focused on co-creating sustainability solutions through research, investments, advice, and private sector peer learning. Before that she spearheaded IFC’s gender equality and economic inclusion efforts in the private sector.
Prior to joining IFC in September 2013, Henriette was the CEO of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Earlier in her career, Henriette served as the UN representative in the Middle East Quartet team advising Quartet Envoy Tony Blair in Jerusalem. She also worked for the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). She has held positions as governance advisor with the European Commission Delegation to Tanzania, the German Technical Cooperation Agency in Germany, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Tanzania, where she worked on conflict reduction, civic education, and socioeconomic issues in East Africa.
Henriette graduated with an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and received her MA from Freiburg University, Germany. She was also a Harvard Kennedy School Women in Public Policy Program nonresident fellow (2018). Henriette is a guest lecturer at the Berkley Haas School of Business, Georgetown University and NYU. She also contributes to articles and blogs hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, Devex and Business Fights Poverty. Henriette also serves a senior advisor to the "Be that Girl Foundation".
Huey Nhan-O’Reilly, Acting Chair of the External Relations Committee
Huey is Head of Digital Delivery at Soapbox Communications, an international design and communications agency agency for leading think tanks, research organisations and NGOs. He has over two decades of experience in digital and communications, and has built and led teams at some of the best commercial agencies in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. He and his teams have won numerous awards for their work and he served as a judge at the BAFTA Interactive Awards.
Huey has worked with various UN Agencies, including UNESCO, UNAIDS and UNDP on campaigns to support the rights of LGBT+ people, women and other marginalised communities. He’s a passionate advocate for the rights of the displaced, borne from his own experience of fleeing Vietnam in 1976, on a boat with his family. He grew up in the migrant communities of Melbourne, Australia, and witnessed first-hand, their struggles and discrimination, but also the kindness of neighbours and local charities. Huey lives in London with his husband, adopted son and rescue pets.
Joe McCarthy
Joe is the Chief Investment Officer at Islandbridge, a multi-family office he founded in 2009. Joe read BESS at Trinity College Dublin and holds a MBA (with distinction) from the University of Oxford.
Prior to Islandbridge, he was a portfolio manager overseeing equity long/ short and hedge fund strategies at a London listed alternative investment manager. He started his career in investment banking at the end of the 90s and has worked in London, Asia and the US in research and M&A.
Joe sits on the Advisory Board of the Trinity Student Management Fund, is a signatory of Founders Pledge and advises a number of private foundations in the US and UK.
Joe hosts the High Net Purpose podcast which focuses on interviewing industry leaders to uncover how they’re pursuing purpose in their lives.
Laura Round
Laura Round is Director in the Office of the International President at Bank of America, where she works across communications, marketing, public policy and ESG. Prior to joining Bank of America, Laura was director at the global strategic communications company freuds, where she specialised in sustainability and climate. Laura was seconded to His Majesty King Charles' Sustainability Markets Initiative for two years. In 2021, Laura was included in the ESG Foundation’s Top 50 ESG ‘Ones to Watch’.
Prior to joining freuds, Laura was Special Adviser in the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development where she advised the Secretary of State on the Department’s policy and communications strategies. In government, she helped put the environment and climate change at the heart of the aid budget. She was also a strong advocate of the role that the private sector can play in sustainable development, including through ESG, corporate social responsibility and purpose-led strategies. Laura is the host of the podcast What Were You Thinking? and has moderated events including at World Economic Forum, CogX, SXSW, Conservative Party Conference and Goals House.
Martin Hyman
Martin Hyman is a Finance Director with more than 25 years’ experience. He now runs a CFO consultancy providing strategic financial advice to a portfolio of organisations. He is a Chartered Accountant, qualifying at KPMG.
He is a visiting lecturer on MBA programmes at the Universities of both Leeds and Manchester.
In addition, Martin is a mentor for The Princes’ Trust, supporting young people in setting up their own businesses. He is an accredited speaker for the Northern Holocaust Education Group, where he relates his late mother’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor and refugee.
Najwa Al Abdallah
Najwa Al Abdallah grew up in a small village in Lebanon in poverty and during the civil war which built her resilience and passion to work for charities with focus on eliminating poverty. She spent the last 21 years working for several international NGOs around the world, overseeing finance, HR, IT and compliance and risk management. She is newly appointed as Director of Corporate Services at Money Advice Trust. Najwa blogs on fighting corruption in development and humanitarian aid organisations.
Natalie Au, Chair of the Safeguarding Committee
Natalie Au is Managing Director at Nau Consultancy, a firm specialising in gender equality, social inclusion and safeguarding. Her career has focused on delivering international cooperation work, including development and humanitarian assistance. She has particular expertise in working with adolescent girls and women, child safeguarding and the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. She has worked with a vast range of clients ranging from international NGOs, foundations, private sector companies, government agencies, bilateral and multilateral development banks.
Nicola Pollitt
Nicola Pollitt is the Director International Affairs at the Cabinet Office. She is a career diplomat and joined the FCDO in 2003. She has served as a diplomat in Norway and Afghanistan, and most recently as British Ambassador to Nepal. Nicola has worked in several roles in central government, including the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and No10. In the Prime Minister's office she worked as the Private Secretary responsible for Asia, Africa and development, including supporting the Prime Minister's work on the Sustainable Development Goals. Nicola holds a BA in law from the University of Cambridge. She lives in South West London with her husband and two children.
Noelia Serrano
Noelia is a partner at Sayer Vincent, auditors and advisors to charities. As well as an audit partner she is also an advisor, trainer and facilitator. She is a chartered accountant and has a Diploma in Charity Accounting awarded by the ICAEW and Cass Business School.
Noelia is a member of Sayer Vincent’s specialist tax and VAT group, and leads its special interest group which coordinates research and activities for international charities.
Before joining IRC, Noelia was Treasurer of Womankind Worldwide, an international women's rights organisation, for seven years, and chaired its Finance and Resources Committee.