| Charity
Principal of the Year |
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Sponsored
by
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 Debbie
Scott, chief executive of Tomorrow's People receives her
award from Linda Burke, director of development and executive
coaching at HBS, and the awards' host Dominic Holland
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| WINNER:
Debbie Scott (Tomorrow's People) |
| Debbie
Scott joined Tomorrow's People in 1984, the same year
it was set up by Grand Metropolitan PLC. At every stage
of her 21 years with the organisation, Debbie has played
a vital role in delivering its services. In addition to
successfully managing the overall operation of the charity,
which has helped 382,000 people since 1984, Debbie ensures
that all operational targets are met and that key partners
are aware of and involved with the charity's development.
She has recently been appointed chair of the Employment
Related Services Association - an organisation which was
established following lobbying by Tomorrow's People. Without
Debbie's unstinting hard work, can-do attitude and wholehearted
faith in what her staff and clients can achieve, many
innovative ideas would never have made it off the drawing
board to become the successful projects they are today. |
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| HIGHLY
COMMENDED: Andrew Ross (The Children's Trust) |
| Andrew
Ross has demonstrated outstanding qualities during the
13 years he has been leader of the Children's Trust. First
and foremost Andrew is greatly liked and respected by
the staff. Over 340 employees and as many volunteers all
know Andrew and feel able to approach him. In the past
year the Trust was reaffirmed as an Investor in People
and an Investor in Volunteers. A former chair of the Institute
of Fundraising, Andrew's networking skills are well known
and he recently put them to good use when he gave a presentation
which resulted in the Trust receiving its largest ever
gift - in excess of £1.2 million. The responsibilities
of leadership are taken very seriously and he has ensured
that his staff are well looked after and the Trust has
since improved rates of recruitment and retention. He
has also presided over a building programme worth £16
million involving the refurbishment and rebuilding of
facilities, which were once in a very poor state. |
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SHORTLIST: David Philpott (Kent Air Ambulance
Trust) |
| Despite
having held this post for less than two years, David has
transformed the charity from a failing organisation to
one that has a new, diverse trustee board and reserves
of nearly £4m. A strategic plan has also been developed,
based on the results of a six month consultation period
with the charity's stakeholders. The outcome was so radical
it required the charity to re-write its objects. Earlier
this year the Charity Commission granted consent for it
to extend its service to neighbouring counties and the
charity's area of benefit has trebled. One of David's
most notable achievements was successfully winning a huge
VAT rebate for air ambulance charities worth up to £1m
by persuading HM Customs & Excise to remove VAT on
the cost of piloting helicopters. He also recently convinced
the Women's Institute to vote against a resolution calling
for the goverment to fund air ambulances on the basis
that it would take away independence and require them
to target-driven instead of object-driven. |
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| SHORTLIST:
Andrew Freemantle (RNLI) |
| Andrew
Freemantle joined the RNLI as its chief executive in October
1998. One of his first steps was to redefine the RNLI's
vision and values, which have provided a solid foundation
on which to build communications and further the aims
of the charity. Human Resources has been a priority and
under the guidance of Andrew, the HR department has introduced
much more modern and strategic measures including job
evaluation, performance related pay, improved staff development
and training, and new contacts to help attract, recruit
and retain the right people. The opening of the world's
first lifeboat college in 2004 is evidence of Andrew's
commitment to training. He also ensures that the vision
and values are in line with the business plan and financial
reporting has been much improved, providing the transparency
that is demanded of the sector. |
