Our Board of Trustees

Our Board of Trustees are here to make sure that the best service possible is delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Find out more about who they are and the work they do.

Chair
Graham Smith

Former director of Kirby & West which has been operating in the city for over 150 years.

Trustee on other Leicester based charities, including LOROS where he is Chair of the Health, Safety and Environmental committee, and Scholars Academy Trust where he is Vice Chair of the Trust and sits on both the Finance and Audit committees, he is also involved at Conkers part of the National Forest.

Graham brings a wealth of business leadership, finance, corporate, and charitable governance experience to the Board of Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland.

Paul Richards

Joined the Board in 2008. Retired as a practicing solicitor in March 2015. (Admitted 1980).

Specialised in: probate, estate administration, care of the elderly, and mental capacity issues with the Court of Protection. An Equity Partner in Wilson Browne Solicitors. Formerly a trustee of Age Concern Leicester.

Experience of fundraising through the Round Table Association and Masonry. Involved both professionally and domestically with regards to administering the affairs of older people.

Navin Parmar

Navin has been a pharmacist for over 40 years but is now retired. He managed a pharmacy in Melton Mowbray for 3 years, and then started his first pharmacy business in Loughborough, and after 16 years, he moved to Leicester running his pharmacy for 18 years.  

In his earlier years, he was a school governor in Loughborough for a few years.

He has also currently become a new trustee for a committee that looks after his community within Leicester. 

His interests are in photography, walking, and spiritual pursuits; He has also taken up new hobbies like yoga and painting. 

Peter Parsons

Peter is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and Arbitrator, with over 40 years commercial experience and contacts in Leicestershire. Formerly a consultant to University of Leicester, De Montfort University and University Hospitals Leicester. Having retired in 2008,he joined the NHS as a Non-Executive Director.

He joined the Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland Board in September 2020 and is a former Trustee of LOROS and is currently active on the County Committee of East Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.

Peter spent 10 years as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with specific responsibilities for finance and performance, estates and sustainability projects. During that period, he provided governance for over £200m of NHS capital projects and latterly the development of a new Children and Adolescent Mental Health Hospital to serve the East Midlands.

Peter grew up in Leicester, was educated at Stoneygate School, Denstone College and London University. After a short spell working in London, he established a commercial property business in Leicester which grew regionally. He has had involvement with a number of local charities and sports clubs over many years.

Simon Lindley

Chief Development Officer Cambridge & Counties Bank Ltd Simon has over 30 years’ experience in financial services predominantly centred on business development and property lending for a number of financial institutions based around the Midlands.

After joining Cambridge & Counties Bank in 2012 to spearhead their business development in the Midlands, Simon took over responsibility for the national Property Finance team in 2015 delivering a service-led and broker-centric business that continues to go from strength to strength.

In 2017, responsibility for the asset finance sales team was added to his duties with Simon joining the Board as the Bank’s Chief Development Officer.

Chris Saul

Chris joined the Board of Trustees for Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland in 1999. Since that time, he has built up an extensive amount of knowledge with regards to the work of the charity.

He recently retired as a practicing solicitor with a large firm of solicitors and has experience across a wide range of matters which are relevant to Age UK LS&R.

Chris recently ran the London Marathon and apart from running his main interest is golf. He is a past Captain and President of the Leicestershire Golf Club.

Dr. Peter Neville

Peter joined Age UK LS&R as a Trustee in 2014. He worked as an NHS Old Age Psychiatrist for many years and is now retired from clinical practice.

He has experience in managing, assessing, evaluating, and monitoring different systems of care. He has awareness of physical and mental health disabilities/illnesses.

A Londoner originally, Peter mainly worked in Leicester throughout his professional career, as an NHS Consultant and also Service Director for Leicestershire Partnership Trust. His personal interests include voluntary sector contributions to the care of older people with dementia and other mental health issues.

Barbara Freestone

Barbara joined the Board of Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland in 2005. She has over 25 years’ experience of managing residential, home care, and day services for older people and strategic planning of services for older people, working across the health and social services sectors.

Currently, Barbara is involved in the National Recruitment process for police authorities in England and Wales. She is an ex Parish Councillor having served for 40 years, is a Trustee for The Grammar School Hall, Kibworth (community resource); a past school governor, guide/scout leader, and her hobbies include travel and gardening.

Malcolm Lindsey

Malcolm joined the Board of Trustees here at Age UK LS&R in 1999.

He has worked as a Senior Manager for Norwich Union and was a former British Army Warrant Officer. His interests are physical exercise and DIY.

Mark Jones

Mark is the Director of Finance & Treasury at Cambridge & Counties Bank.

He is a qualified accountant with over 30 years’ experience in Financial Services. 

Mark is the Treasurer of Oadby Baptist Church in Leicester and is also involved in youth work as an officer in the 1^st Oadby Boys Brigade.

He joined our Board as a Trustee in September 2022. 

Jo Kavanagh 

Jo has recently retired from a career in healthcare spanning 43 years. She trained as a registered nurse and worked in the NHS for over 30 years in clinical, management and leadership positions both in acute hospitals and in a regional position supporting the development of cancer and palliative care services. For the last 11 years of her career Jo was Director of Care Services at LOROS Hospice in Leicester where she had responsibility for all care provision and was also a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Before joining LOROS, Jo was a Trustee at a Hospice in Derbyshire. She has been a School Governor in the past and is now a Trust Member at the same school in Loughborough. Jo is also Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at Vista, another local charity in Leicester, which supports people who are living with sight loss. 

With her background within the NHS and voluntary sector and her additional Trustee/Governor roles, Jo brings a wide range of skills and experience to the Board of Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland.

Jo is an active person and enjoys walking and regular exercise. 

She joined the Board of Trustees in March 2023.

Sean Moran

Sean is a partner in a leading national firm of solicitors.

Originally from Kent, Sean went to university in London where he worked and qualified as a solicitor before moving to Leicester.

He has over 30 years’ experience in the law advising businesses and individuals including various charities.

Sean is a keen sports fan but now spends most of his time watching rather than playing.

He is a keen recreational cyclist and has completed several alpine climbs.