Trustees
Asi Panditharatna
Asi is currently the Divisional Director for Employment Services at the Forward Trust and has spent the majority of his career working in operational, business development and leadership roles in employability, vocational training, apprenticeships, regeneration and economic development. Asi spent ten years working at Catch22 and took them to their first ever Ofsted Grade Good for apprenticeships and vocational training. Asi is a school governor and was a member of the Mayor of London’s (Sadiq Khan) inaugural Skills for Londoner’s Task Force. Asi’s family is Sri Lankan in origin and continues to support children’s, young people’s and reconciliation charities in the country.
Charlie Green (Chair)
Charlie is Chairman of ThinkForward and was one of the founders and a trustee of the Private Equity Foundation and Impetus after its merger with the Private Equity Foundation. Charlie was involved in the creation of ThinkForward in 2011 and was heavily involved with structuring its first social impact bond in 2012. He is a founder and director of 24Haymarket and is currently a non-executive director of several of its portfolio companies. He was previously a partner at Candover, a private equity firm, and prior to that a director of Morgan Grenfell and Deutsche Bank.
Dan Easterbrook
Dan Easterbrook is a young trustee. Dan is from Dorset and works for the civil service. He was inspired to join the board due to his own experiences as a person with Cerebral Palsy Hemiplegia. As a university student, Dan was responsible for overhauling the governance of the Exeter Students’ Guild and is a firm believer in stakeholder engagement. He also set up a digital community for Cerebral Palsy Hemiplegia which supports 400 people to tackle and share solutions to the barriers, challenges, and problems they face. Coaching and mentorship have supported Dan to overcome obstacles he has faced as a disabled person.
Kathryn Jack
Kathryn is currently the Head of Employer and Stakeholder Engagement at a consultancy firm, Hook Tangaza. She manages LawQWE, a specialised careers portal for aspiring lawyers. Kathryn is a first-generation university graduate who qualified as a chartered manager through a degree apprenticeship programme. With three apprenticeship schemes under her belt since leaving school, Kathryn has lived the experience of a more blended pathway into work. She is an experienced mentor, has worked on various SEND voluntary projects, and is passionate about encouraging socio-economic growth and mobility. Kathryn is also a strong advocate for young people to find their voice.
Keith MacDonald
Keith MacDonald is a partner with EY, where he looks after the work they do in the Wealth Management sector, including chairing an industry Philanthropy Forum. He has supported EY Foundation since its set up, is a member of NPC’s Development Committee, and is a member of Hope & Home for Children’s Public Sector Advisory Committee.
Sally Cartwright
Sally Cartwright is a young trustee and a former Nottingham student from our programme. She went to Ellis Guilford School where she worked with coach Daljit. Sally joined ThinkForward in 2016 and instantly embraced the benefits of the coaching relationship and the opportunities the programme provided. She is currently studying Law at university and works as a support worker for young people. Sally wants to help ThinkForward grow and be accessible to more young people.
Vanessa Morphet
Vanessa is the Head of Social Impact Investment within the Mission and Public Affairs unit at the Church of England. She studied at Wadham College Oxford, and went on to work in the financial services sector at Goldman Sachs, Arma Partners and Wellington Management. Vanessa then worked with venture philanthropy organisation, Impetus, before joining the UK Government’s Inclusive Economy Unit. Vanessa is Chair of ThinkForward’s Finance, Risk and Audit Committee.
Matthew Tate
Matthew Tate has been the Headteacher at Hartsdown Academy in Margate, Kent, since 2016. Hartsdown is a mixed non selective school of 700 students where every child is known. It is an IB World School offering the IB Careers Programme in sixth form. The school is renowned for arts and works extensively with the Turner Gallery and other artists to offer a challenging and rich curriculum to all its students. Before joining Hartsdown, Matthew was the founding Headteacher of Trinity School in Sevenoaks, opening the school in 2013. The school achieved a Good rating from Ofsted within five terms of opening and in 2015 was the seventh most popular school in Kent. Matthew has a track record of school improvement, working in the senior leadership teams of several schools in challenging circumstances. He believes that an excellent education is a matter of justice and that working as a group of schools will ensure that all children, whatever their circumstances, can achieve.