Nick is an experienced entrepreneurial P&L Managing Director, Chairman, CEO and NED with an international  track record within renewables, technology, oil/gas/chemicals, B2b, start-ups,  consumer products, agricultural and charities.

Nick Chairs the Surrey Young People’s Fund and the UK Born in Africa charity.

Diana Whittington is the Special Projects Director at the Financial Times, a position she has held for many years.  Prior to this, she was the Managing Director of Financial Times Conferences & Events, establishing it as a profitable global business.   Diana has organised major events all over the world, many involving working with governments and international organisations at the most senior level.

Before joining the FT, Diana worked in public relations for ICFC (now 3i) and Young & Rubicam – the international advertising agency.   She has undertaken consultancy projects for many organisations including Extel, the DTI, the IFC (part of the World Bank) and Chatham House and worked with the UK Government on the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in London.

Diana has been involved with The Passage – the charity for the homeless in London and SCAS – the Surrey County Agricultural Show. She has lived in Surrey for over 50 years.

Neelam Devesher has lived in Surrey for twenty years, and has worked in public sector organisations at senior management level. Neelam has set up numerous projects focused on improving the quality of life for the most vulnerable in our communities. She is committed to finding solutions to help address inequity, racism and discrimination and is passionate about promoting equality of opportunity, inclusion and fairness for all vulnerable communities.

She currently chairs the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum and also the Surrey Police Hate Crime Scrutiny Panel. In 2021 Neelam was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Surrey. Neelam is originally from Yorkshire and is of Indian and Hindu heritage, has two children and four grandchildren. She is honoured and privileged to be a trustee for the Community Foundation for Surrey and use her experience and skills to strengthen our reach within the most vulnerable communities living and working in Surrey.

Sir Denis O’Connor takes up the position as our new Chair having previously supported the Community Foundation for Surrey as a Trustee.

Denis has years of experience as a trustee for a number of charitable organisations, including the Migraine Trust and the Inclusive Educational Trust. He has also supported the Surrey Care Trust from 2015-17, and was appointed as Chair from December 2017 – July 2021.

Denis is a lecturer and advisor and member of the Committee at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. He was Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary between 2009-12. Prior to joining the Inspectorate in 2004, he was Chief Constable of Surrey between 2000 and 2004.

He received the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in 1996, CBE in 2002, and was knighted in 2010.