Meet the Together Initiative Trustees
/together is coordinated by a small charity called The Together Initiative, which is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The Rt Reverend Nick Baines (Chair)
Reverend Nick Baines became the first (Anglican) Bishop of Leeds in May 2003. Ordained at Carlisle Cathedral in 1987, he has since served the Dioceses of Leicester as the Vicar of Rothley, Southwark as the Archdeacon of Lambeth and Bishop of Croydon, and West Yorkshire & the Dales as the Bishop of Leeds. Prior to being ordained, he worked at GCHQ as a Russian Linguist. Rev. Baines is an experienced broadcaster and writer, chairing the Sandford St Martin Trust which promotes excellence in religious broadcasting. He has published six books and is a regular contributor on Radio 2’s Pause for Thought.
Tendai Bwanya
Tendai is a partner at Deloitte. Prior to settling in the UK, Tendai worked in Zimbabwe and the US, auditing and advising clients in Private Equity, Investment Management and Banking industries. Tendai qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and in Zimbabwe. He is involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives and supports a number of voluntary causes, with current and past involvement with Compassion UK, KickStart Money, The Centre for Financial Capability and Love Your Neighbour initiative. Tendai was born and raised in a small rural village in Zimbabwe before he completed his Accountancy degree at the University of Zimbabwe
Mike Clarke
Prof Mike Clarke was CEO of the RSPB from 2010-2019, where he grew membership to over 1.2 million, and established the agenda‐setting reports of the UK State of Nature partnership. He also played a leading role in #DefendNature. He has served on the governing bodies of a small village school, the country’s largest schools federation, a Russell Group university, and as a Parish Councillor. He is currently an Associate of the Institute of European Environmental Policy, a Global Council member of BirdLife International, and an Advisory Council member of NCVO. He has been volunteering since the age of 14.
Emma Crookes
Emma is Managing Director and Lead mediator at EMC Mediation Services Ltd. She has exceptional corporate governance experience from her time with Standard Chartered bank where she held the roles of Global Head, HR, Conduct, Financial Crime & Compliance and Corporate Affairs & Brand and Marketing Head, HR, Mergers & Acquisitions, Regional Head, HR, Support Functions, Americas and Head, HR, Performance. Emma is a qualified Civil and Commercial mediator focused on employment, workplace and online dispute resolution and a Neuroscience based coach and mentor. Prior to joining Standard Chartered she was People Services & Development Director and Company Secretary at People 1st. She holds a Masters in HR and is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Francis Hawkins
Frances is Head of Internal Audit for Global Markets and Operations for Goldman Sachs International. She is a Managing Director with a 20+ year history of success in risk identification and control enhancement across various industries including global financial services institutions, local government and retail. Focused on conduct, culture, enhancing operational systems and risk mitigation across multi-disciplinary teams.
Sam Jacobs
Sam is the EMEA Partner Director for NetApp. He was born and grew up in London, studying English Literature at Cambridge University. Sam has been a trustee of the Arts Depot, London and led a national student union and served on Trade Union and Anti Racism committees. He has worked in the high technology sector since 1983 working for a Silicon Valley data company for the last 15 years, and has mentored startups. Sam has also worked with a technology which enables internet access for students in developing countries. Sam is a member of the IT livery charity company working on developing skills and enabling youth in London.
Marcus Peffers
Marcus is CEO of World Services at M&C Saatchi. Marcus joined Saatchi & Saatchi as a graduate trainee in 1994. In early 1995 he joined M&C Saatchi and led many of the agency’s largest global accounts, such as RBS, GSK, British Airways and Siemens. He was later made Group Account Director, Deputy Managing Director, promoted to COO for Europe and subsequently COO of EMEA. In 2011, he founded a new global division of the company, World Services, with a focus on using the experience and creative capabilities of M&C Saatchi to help tackle complex behavioural and social issues. Since launch the new division has enjoyed continued strong growth and now ranks as one of M&C Saatchi’s most successful companies.