Citizens Advice Welcomes New Trustees

member article

One of the region’s leading information and advisory organizations has enhanced the experience of its board with a number of new key appointments.

Citizens Advice Gateshead is an independent charity providing local services to transform lives by helping people move forward in times of upheaval and uncertainty.

The most recent Trustees to join the Board, Andrew Marsh, Anthony Tunmore, Scot McHarg and Richard Lee, bring a wealth of experience in putting people first.

Andrew is an award-winning President of Vistage for the North East and Northumberland, NED for numerous companies and charities and is a successful entrepreneur. He spends his days helping leaders achieve goals and find opportunities. Having recently retired from his six-year role as Chair of Age UK Northumberland and moving to the position of President, Andrew discovered he had the availability and hunger to continue helping vulnerable people in local communities. The internship at Citizens Advice Gateshead came at exactly the right time.

The charity’s CEO, Alison Dunn, says Andrew’s appointment is vital at a time of change and new challenges for both the organization and the local community. She said:

“People are at the heart of everything we do. We promote the need for a just society for all, so it is important that the people on our board not only understand this, but live and breathe this belief.

“Having known Andrew for a number of years, through a peer group where he helps people to be their best and through working with the organization as a mentor, I am delighted to welcome him. I am confident that his forward-thinking perspective, determination for equality and the way he demonstrates inclusion mean he will be a valuable addition. His attention to detail and strategic understanding of governance will continue to add weight to our current experience.”

As charities find it harder to raise relevant funds and the general public faces a cost of living crisis, the organization is looking for ways to support more people and increasingly care for their employees. Andrew, who looks forward to contributing to future success, said:

“For me, the drive behind every working day is to make a difference for people. If I go to bed at night and haven’t helped at least one person, then it wasn’t a good day.

“Citizens Advice Gateshead is a quality charity providing important services to a community. Having recently introduced the four-day work week, freeing up more personal hours for employees while preserving their income, and allowing for the extension of hours to provide local services, this is an exciting time for the organization and therefore one great time for me to join . It’s great to have this opportunity to continue to make a positive impact.”

Anthony Tunmore, Corporate Finance Manager at Northland Properties & Sandman Signature, has also joined the board after serving on the charity’s finance subcommittee for the past 12 months. This is Anthony’s first Trustee role at just 29 years old but he brings his solid financial background to look into forward strategy and helping real people. He said:

“This is my chance to give back to the Northeastern community where I live and work. Citizens Advice Gateshead is a great place to work and focuses on helping people, which appeals to me a lot. I look forward to working with the other trustees to really make a difference.”

Scot McHarg is a people expert who brings his understanding to the table through his years of recruiting and his most recent role at NRG. Scot works across all business disciplines but has a strong track record in Human Resources, Finance, Sales & Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain. Assignments were typically at senior level, but included mid-level project managers, general managers, executive directors and non-executive directors.

Prior to moving into recruitment, Scot had over 20 years’ experience in a variety of plc organizations in the banking, leisure and automotive sectors. During this time he had significant board-level experience and gained great insight into the behavior and strategy of organizations in phases of inception, change and development, as well as acquisition and divestment.

Scot, who is also a trustee of the Toby Henderson Trust, hopes to use his developed network and contacts in the region to benefit Citizens Advice Gateshead. He said:

“Having worked with the charity’s CEO, Alison Dunn, to hire a commercial director, I was amazed at the scale of the services offered and the potential to help the number of people affected. I find the commitment to people’s health and well-being attractive and am happy to help where I can with salary, benchmarking and success in recruiting.”

Richard Lee also joins the board at this exciting time for the charity. A seasoned executive with 15 years of commercial experience leading multiple products from launch to a full-fledged SaaS platform, Richard brings people management and scaling for growth expertise.

This was posted by Anna Toms in the Member News section of Bdaily.