Chair and Trustee

The Role:

Quartet Community Foundation

The Client:

The Client

Quartet Community Foundation is a unique organisation; they change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for the better across the West of England every year, giving as many people as possible the chance to fulfil their potential.

They do this by working closely with a wide variety of donors to harness their passion for helping others and match it to vital projects that meet community aspirations and make a profound difference to people’s lives.

The Challenge

Quartet Community Foundation came to Moon Executive Search and asked Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice, to lead on the search for a new Chair for their Board of Trustees. This is a role where they were looking to source a high calibre individual who could contribute to the development of one of the largest and oldest of the UK’s 46 community foundations.

Sandy was aware that candidates needed to show a passion for inspiring local philanthropy that changes lives. She was seeking a candidate who could bring a deep appreciation of the strength and diversity of all our communities, as well as seeking a Chair who brought credibility and confidence to inspire more local philanthropy and someone with an ability to influence civic leaders effectively.

Our Approach

Sandy and her team adopted three key measures for this search; to utilise our extensive community groups, not for profit and voluntary organisations network to broadcast the role effectively, to reach into our connections from the local business and professional services community to discuss the opportunity and to advertise the role in both the local and national media.

Sandy also put together a press release announcing the campaign and a briefing pack for candidates, which outlined the goals and aspirations of Quartet Community Foundation and timescales for the appointment.

We are so pleased with the outcome and know Sue and Raj will be great advocates for us in the months and years ahead.’

Sue Turner, CEO of Quartet CF

The Solution

Quartet Community Foundation chose Sue Mountstevens for the Chair role. Sue is currently the Police Crime Commissioner for Avon & Somerset Constabulary and prior to this, she worked as an independent board member for Avon & Somerset Police and Bristol Prison, where she was a Vice Chair.

The shortlist was strong enough that Quartet Community Foundation also asked for Raj Kakar-Clayton to join them as a Trustee. Raj is currently Managing Director of Bristol based ‘Which? Trusted Traders’. He has over 25 years of experience in delivering results and developing people in the financial/commercial sector to both corporate and medium-size businesses. He has been part of the Bristol business community for over 15 years. Raj is also a Trustee for the Creative Youth Network in Bristol. Sandy also introduced Raj into Bristol Students Union as a Trustee, so this is the second time she has successfully supported Raj with a Trustee role.

Both Sue and Raj have been brought in at a crucial time for Quartet Community Foundation who are fighting the impact of COVID-19 by rapidly raising funds and deploying them as grants to charitable and community organisations on the front line of supporting disadvantaged people through the current crisis. The charity aims to change people’s lives for the better across the West of England, giving as many people as possible the chance to fulfil their potential.

Sue Turner, Chief Executive of Quartet Community Foundation said:

‘Sandy and her team did a great job using their strong community, voluntary and business connections to promote Quartet Community Foundation to a wide-ranging audience across the region. We are so pleased with the outcome and know Sue and Raj will be great advocates for us in the months and years ahead.’

Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice at Moon Executive Search said:

’We were so delighted to be chosen to lead this campaign and we were overwhelmed with the good will and support towards Quartet Community Foundation. This was evidenced by the amount of interest in the role. It was a privilege to work with Sue and her team.’