Your weekly roundup of appointments happening across the charity sector.
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Charities Aid Foundation
The Trustees of the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) have appointed Caroline Siarkiewicz as Interim chief executive. She will take over on 7 April 2026 following Neil Heslop’s decision to retire as chief executive after nearly six years.

Siarkiewicz was previously CEO of the Money and Pensions Service from 2019 to 2024, following senior roles within the service and at one of its predecessors, the Money Advice Service. She is also a member of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Panel.

Horatio's Garden
Horatio’s Garden has appointed Hattie Ghaui as a trustee on its board.
Ghaui brings experience across philanthropy, strategy, governance and partnerships as CEO of Project Giving Back, the grant-making charity that funds gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

As CEO of Project Giving Back, she leads the organisation’s strategy, governance and partnerships, and manages an annual grant-making programme of £3–4 million.

Prior to this, she held senior strategy and research roles at the creative consultancy Wiser, advising global brands including Nike and Knight Frank, and earlier worked in branding and in conservation philanthropy.

Leukaemia UK
Leukaemia UK has appointed a former communications chief for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to its board.

James Lyons joins the charity as a trustee a year after he left Downing Street, where he spent a year as director of strategic communications. This was a role he was appointed to after supporting the Labour Party with writing its 2024 general election manifesto.

He also spent a year as Tik Tok’s head of corporate and policy communications for Europe, and was previously a director of communications for NHS England and is a former deputy political editor of The Sunday Times.

The charity says that Lyons has a personal connection to the charity, with both his late father-in-law and father being diagnosed with a rare type of leukaemia.

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