Our Trustees
Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire is governed by a board of trustees, who are volunteer directors of the charity.
The Trustees of Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire work closely alongside our Chief Executive, Michael Garrett and the leadership team.
It is the responsibility of every trustee to ensure that Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire operates in a manner which enables it to fulfil its charitable object as effectively as possible.Trustees need to have the ability to think strategically and to work collaboratively with others. In doing so, they help to shape and guide the future strategy and development of Age UK Coventry And Warwickshire, including the development and launch of exciting new services.
Trustee responsibilities:
- To approve the strategic direction and priorities for the charity.
- To safeguard Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire’s good name.
- To ensure that Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire complies with its constitution, charity law and any other relevant legislation or regulations.
- To oversee the preparation of the Trustees’ report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards.
About Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire's Trustees:
Gill Entwistle- Chair of Trustees
Gillian became an Age UK Trustee in June 2021 and is a member of the Finance Committee.
Gillian worked in the NHS for 35 years, moving from the North West to the Midlands for university and qualifying as an accountant through the NHS graduate scheme in 1989. Gillian worked for 16 years in numerous large NHS hospitals and health authorities in the Midlands, including 8 years in Coventry and Warwickshire as a Director of Finance/Deputy CEO, She was Chief Executive of NHS Redditch & Bromsgrove PCT and most recently Chief Executive of NHS South Warwickshire CCG for the 9 years to 2021.
Gillian has lived in Solihull with her family since 1996.
Lauren Duncan
Lauren Duncan became a trustee in September/October 2019 and now holds the position of Chair of the Quality and Compliance Committee
Lauren is currently self employed as a Celebrant, and has been for the last 4 years. Prior to this, she was an Operations Manager in the hospitality sector, working with global contractors such as Compass Group and Sodexo. She spent 8 years providing the services in 15 HSBC Bank buildings across the UK: from catering, to cleaning, retail and front of house.
Lauren has extensive HR knowledge as an integral part of her role in the corporate world she was managing large teams. Lauren also has a Health and Safety background having gained a NEBOSHH qualification when working as a Facilities Manager.
She has lived in Wolston- between Coventry and Rugby- with her husband Stuart for the last 14 years, although she was born on the Isle of Man and lived most of her life in and around the North West.
Lauren moved down to Warwickshire to care for Stuart's mother, who was on her own. They were advised to contact Age UK for advice when Stuart's mother became infirm and required assistance. Age UK were marvellous- gave good advice and great support.
Lauren's father in Manchester also had help and support from Age UK as he struggled with mobility at the time. He actually bequeathed a legacy to the charity, so Lauren had first-hand knowledge about what a worthy charity Age UK is and Lauren was delighted to take up the offer to become a trustee when approached!
Margaret Egrot
Margaret was a trustee with Age UK Coventry from 2012, and was Chair at the time of the merger with Warwickshire, until 2021. She remains a trustee with AUKCW, and also helps out as a relief volunteer at the Gilbert Richards Centre.
Margaret moved to Coventry as a senior probation officer in 1989, and was seconded in 1998 to work with West Midlands Police and the seven local authorities on implementing the Crime and Disorder Act. In 2005 she was appointed as the chief executive for Victim Support West Midlands, until the charity was absorbed by the VS national office. She subsequently spent several years as a freelance consultant, undertaking work for the West Midlands Criminal Justice Board and a range of local authority children’s services. She edited, and contributed to, children’s services practice standards manuals for Birmingham and Leeds local authorities.
She has written two novels for teenagers based in the West Midlands, one – for adults – which based in Coventry, and several short stories and plays. She is a regular blogger about the meaning of words, books, and authors, and a front-of-house volunteer for a local community theatre.
Grace Hampson
Grace has retired now after spending 5 years as an independent management consultant working within the NHS and Local Authority where she led varied major projects including the establishment of a model dementia service and ward within an acute hospital and 5-year strategy for an NHS Foundation Mental Health Trust.
Prior to this, Grace enjoyed a career working within the NHS management where her last post was as Director of Commissioning in Worcestershire.
Grace has had longstanding interests in the fields of mental health, learning disability and dementia. Her skills include strategic development, performance management, service improvement and transformation, consultation and involvement.
Mark Harris
Extensive international experience in industrial sales & marketing, with Exxon Chemical and Quaker Chemical Corporation.
Senior Vice President of QCC from 2001-2008, initially in a global business leadership role and then with responsibility for Strategic Planning, Key Customers, New Business Development and Marketing & Communications.
Chair of the charity Peeple, Trustee of the Wroxton Land charity and Trustee of Balscote Village Hall Trust. Volunteer at the National Trust’s Farnborough Hall and with the Cranfield Trust.
Andrew Lester
Andy became a trustee in April 2023.
Andy works in the civil service, specialising in strategy, governance, and corporate performance and risk management. At present he is Head of Strategy and Planning at the Office for Environmental Protection, where he developed the organisation's first strategy, and the risk and governance framework for this new public body. He also leads the executive office and board secretariat and its relationships with parliament and government. He previously had similar roles in education focused government bodies.
Prior to his civil service career, Andy spent 18 years in financial services, mostly with Lloyds Bank. He was a corporate banking manager working with clients across Coventry, Warwickshire and the Midlands before specialising in risk and regulation and ultimately leading a team of 45 working with the corporate bank's staff and customers to ensure that regulatory change was safely implemented.
Andy has lived in Warwickshire for over 20 years, and currently lives in Southam with his wife and two teenage children.
Aleksandra Lambrecht
Aleksandra became an AUKCW Trustee in April 2023 and this is her first trustee role. She is also a member of the Quality and Compliance Committee.
Aleksandra is a career auditor, working at AXA UK & Ireland, providing independent assurance over the effectiveness of their governance, risks and controls. Previous to that, she worked in the same role at NFU Mutual in Stratford Upon Avon.
Her main skills areas are risk management, controls, IT and project management.
Aleksandra is based in Leamington Spa and in her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing tennis and going to the gym as well as enjoying travelling and spending time with friends.
Darin McLean
Darin Mclean has been a trustee associated with Age UK in Coventry and Warwickshire since 2006: firstly, with Age UK Coventry Trading Limited, then with Age UK Coventry the charity, and most recently on the merged board of Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire.
Darin is a fully qualified, independent, self-employed financial adviser specialising in mortgages and protection. He helps people to get onto and move up the home ownership ladder, while also helping them protect themselves and their families with the right amount of insurance to give them financial resilience in the event of accident, incapacity, illness or death.
Darin's career has been quite varied. He started working in 1985 as a business analyst and computer systems specialist with U.S. Fortune 100 firm PPG Industries Inc. In 1990 he decided to leave PPG and set up business as a management consultant in Milan, Italy, where he specialised in assisting multi-national companies in setting up financial and management control systems in their Italian subsidiaries. Then, around the year 2000, Darin co-founded a UK-based company that supplied outsourced services to solicitors, eventually selling his interest in it in 2014. It was at this time that Darin became a financial adviser.
It was because of setting up the UK business that Darin moved from Italy to the UK, where he met and married his wife Claire, settled down in a lovely village in Worcestershire, and became a British citizen. Darin's birth country is the U.S.A., where he still holds citizenship.
The most important skills that Darin feels he brings to Age UK Coventry & Warwickshire as a trustee are analytical thinking, problem solving, and a positive can-do attitude. Darin loves a challenge, and truly enjoys applying his skills and experience as part of the great team of trustees at the charity.
Darin is very aware however that it’s the incredibly important work and activities successfully carried out every day by the dedicated team of employees and volunteers at the charity, along with the thousands of beneficiaries of the charity, that really matter. It gives him a huge sense of pride to be part of the charity and to have an opportunity to make a tiny contribution to its ongoing success and sustainability.
Outside of his involvement with Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire, Darin is a member of Stratford-upon-Avon Rotary Club and a Trustee of his local village hall. Darin enjoys nature and travel, taking most of his holidays in places where he and his wife can go on long and sometimes challenging walks. They are particularly fond of Scotland, Wales, Italy and France, but never overlook the multitude of opportunities for delightful country walks available to them from their doorstep.
Charlotte Ponder
Charlotte became a trustee in December 2019 and she is also on the Quality and Compliance Committee. This is her first trustee role. Charlotte was appointed Vice-Chair of the charity in April 2020.
Charlotte is employed as the Legal Director at Countrywide Tax & Trust Corporation Ltd, a company providing Private Client Services and software solutions to a range of professionals. Charlotte oversees a number of departments ensuring that the day-to-day operations of the company run smoothly. She is a non-practising solicitor and barrister and has completed the STEP Diploma in Advising Vulnerable Clients. Charlotte is a member of the Young Trustees Movement, aiming to double the number of trustees under 30 by 2024. Charlotte regularly speaks at industry events and has presented at the Law Society's Elderly Client Conference. She frequently attends meetings with key stakeholders in the legal sector, including the Law Commission, and was involved in the first ever Law & Justice Edition of the Parliamentary Review. Charlotte also recently took part in a panel at Coventry University's first 'Legal Futures' Conference.
Charlotte is passionate about encouraging others to follow careers in the Private Client field and takes part in lots of different careers events with local high schools and universities when opportunities come along.
Her main skills areas are operations, law and systems/software.
Laurence Tennant
Laurence has a career background in the NHS. He spent the first half of this career in the NHS working as a Clinical Psychologist in hospital, community and GP settings. Later he was the Chief Executive of the North Warwickshire NHS Trust and following that, Chief Executive of Coventry Primary Care Trust (PCT). Following retirement from the NHS Laurence worked as a Management Consultant on reorganisation issues in the NHS, principally in Warwickshire and Worcestershire, and also as an Independent Chair /Author for Serious Case Reviews.
Laurence joined Age UK Coventry in 2014 and as a Trustee, he made contributions to policy and procedure reviews and to the implementation of Board level Disciplinary and Grievance processes. He was a member of the Finance sub Committee and just prior to the merger with Age UK Warwickshire acted as Treasurer.
Since the formation of Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire Laurence has been a member of the Finance and Audit Committee and since December 2022, Treasurer of the Charity. His background and training have given him experience in development of services for older people, financial management and HR issues, corporate governance and working within the Health and Social Care Sector.
Laurence’s interests include most sports, he is an active golfer (although not very good!) and a season ticket holding supporter of a midlands football team (he won’t say which!). He enjoys spending time with family, and particularly grandchildren, enjoys reading, music of all kinds and gardening.