Board of trustees

Steve Ingham CBE, Chair

Steve Ingham CBE was, until December 2022, the CEO of PageGroup, the FTSE 200 global recruitment business. As CEO he expanded the company’s operations from 18 countries to 37 and quadrupled gross and operating profit (to over £1billion and £200m).

In March 2019 Steve had a near fatal skiing accident and is now a permanent wheelchair user. Whilst prior to his accident he was a big advocate and driving force for improving EDI within Page, his accident gave him new motivation to do more.

He now hopes to focus on improving attitudes towards disability in the workplace and to shine a light on hidden talent pools. In addition to Business Disabiity Forum, Steve is on the Board of three other charities: The Back Up Trust, Whizz Kidz and Wings for Life.

In June 2022, he was awarded a CBE on the Queen’s Birthday Awards, for achievements in business and for people with disabilities. As part of his belief that business and sport can make a huge difference in disabled peoples’ lives he joined the board of ParalympicGB in May 2023.

Rebecca Hitchings, Vice Chair, General Merchandise Business Unit Director, Boots UK&I

Rebecca is a highly accomplished senior leader with 8 years of extensive experience operating at board level in a variety of roles within a highly complex, values led, FTSE 100 business. A seasoned executive with P&L responsibility and a proven track record of success in leading transformational change that has delivered outstanding business performance. A critical thinker who demonstrates commercial acumen, tenacity, and drive; Rebecca is recognised for her straightforward leadership style that has allowed her to inspire her team to deliver excellent results whilst maintaining a culture based on honesty, trust and professional integrity.

In her career, Rebecca has gained experience across of formats of retailing, from High Street to pure online players. Having joined Sainsbury’s 8 years ago, she has held several roles, the most current being Trading Director for Tu and Habitat. Responsible for £2.5bn turnover, trading across Sainsbury’s. Rebecca joined Boots as General Merchandise Business Unit Director in May 2023.

Victoria Cleland, Executive Director for Banking, Payments and Innovation, Bank of England

Victoria Cleland is the Executive Director for Payments. She leads the teams responsible for: 

• The operation and strategic development of the Bank’s payment systems. This includes (i) the UK’s real‐time gross settlement (RTGS) service – the critical backbone of payments in the UK, settling over £720bn of sterling payments and securities transactions each working day; and (ii) the wholesale payments system CHAPS.  
• The major Programme to renew the Bank’s RTGS infrastructure, ensuring it is fit for the future payments landscape.  
• The Bank’s policy approach to payments, in particular in relation to their RTGS and CHAPS operations, and international work to enhance cross-border payments. 

Victoria is a member of the Bank for International Settlement’s Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI). This includes acting as Deputy Chair for the CPMI’s Programme Co-ordination Board, which oversees delivery of the CPMI-led elements of the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments.  

Victoria is also a member of the Bank of England’s RTGS/CHAPS Board, which provides strategic leadership for the Bank’s RTGS infrastructure and CHAPS high-value payment system. 

Victoria has held several senior positions in a range of areas at the Bank of England. Most recent have included Executive Director for Banking, Payments and Innovation and Chief Cashier, where she was responsible for banknotes (from design to distribution) and led their work on digital currencies. 

Before that she was Deputy Head of the Special Resolution Unit, and previously Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor. Her previous roles also included overseeing payment and settlement systems, financing small businesses and graduate recruitment. 

Victoria has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Imperial College London.

Dr Shaun Davis, Group Safety, Health and Wellbeing Director, Belron International

Currently Group Safety, Health and Wellbeing Director at Belron International, Shaun previously worked at Royal Mail Group, where he led an organisation-wide attendance improvement programme as part of a broader wellbeing and health promotion agenda, with particular attention being paid to mental health, musculoskeletal issues and issues affecting an ageing workforce.

Shaun has also worked in the construction, refurbishment, infrastructure and waste management sectors and led organisations to achieve significant improvements in performance – most notably achieving ISO:9001, ISO:14001, OHSAS:18001 and ISO:45001 alongside British Safety Council ‘Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit’ across two FTSE listed organisations. Shaun has led culture change programmes and achieved a variety of awards and accolades for the organisations he has worked in.

Ian Callaghan, Finance Director for Group Corporate Treasury (GCT), Lloyds Banking Group

Ian Callaghan is currently the Finance Director for Group Corporate Treasury (GCT) at Lloyds Banking Group.

Ian’s team is responsible for co-ordinating and consolidating GCTs monthly reporting of balance sheets, P&L and regulatory reporting. The team is also responsible for planning and forecasting and contributing to group-wide stress testing exercises, and supporting the business with financial analysis for strategic business activities.

Ian trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and has worked across Investment and Commercial Banking for 20+ years in a number of Senior Finance roles. Ian is an active Trustee of Mind in Mid Herts.

Angela Whitty, CEO, Ampito Group

Angela Whitty is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in the IT sector spanning , having held senior leadership roles at prominent companies such as Cisco and Ampito. After a career spanning thirty plus years, she recently stepped back from her CEO position at Ampito to spend more time with her family, including her aging father, while she considers her next career move. 

With a strong background in strategic development and team leadership, Angela has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth in highly competitive markets.

Her expertise spans networking solutions, managed service development, and digital transformation, making her a respected figure in the tech community.

Passionate about empowering teams and fostering collaboration, Angela continues to advocate for diversity and inclusion within the industry as well as mentoring the next generation of tech leaders. Outside of work, she enjoys travel as well as the odd round of golf.

Paul Smyth MBE, Director of Digital Accessibility for Barclays Bank

Paul is the Director of Digital Accessibility for Barclays Bank. As the founder and leader of their accessibility programmes, Paul was tasked with identifying, anticipating and addressing technological barriers faced by disabled customers and colleagues.  

Barclays has a longstanding commitment to accessible customer service and inclusive workplaces, with an ambition to become the most accessible and inclusive company.  

He’s responsible for embedding accessibility into their products, services and culture. This requires ensuring that digital services are designed for each of us so that they work for all of us. 

As someone who’s visually impaired himself, Paul recognises how accessible technology can enable and empower disabled people to work, bank and reach their full potential. He’s a thought leader, public speaker and advisor to disability charities and UK Government 

Rachel Blackett, Head of Engagement, Health & Wellbeing at Royal Mail Group

Rachel is the Head of Engagement, Health & Wellbeing at Royal Mail Group where she has had a long and varied career working across a range of business disciplines. 

As a senior HR professional, she leads on a huge programme of activity focussed on improving the work experience for all colleagues, specifically through supporting great workplace relationships that are inclusive and focus on the person not just the employee. As the parent of a disabled child, she has first-hand experience of how challenging it is to get the right support to foster both independence and inclusion. She is actively involved in how we create career pathways for young disabled people through education and opportunity. 

Hannah Mallett, Buying & Design Director for Home & Furniture at Sainsbury’s Argos

Hannah is currently the Buying & Design Director for Home & Furniture at Sainsbury’s Argos, owning the product proposition across all their brands and channels, and leading a team of 80+ talented design and buying colleagues.

She’s had the opportunity to lead most non-food product categories across General Merchandise in her career including Clothing, and also sponsors their sustainability initiatives aligned to our corporate targets.

Hannah grew up in the Northwest of the UK, near Liverpool. She went on to study Sports Science at Sheffield Hallam University, following on with a Postgrad in Chester with a focus on Sports Nutrition.

Hannah lives by her personal values of trust and transparency and always shows up with positive energy.

Ed Stainton, Managing Director of BT’s Government business

Ed is the Managing Director of BT’s Government business, where his responsibilities encompass defence, justice, civil government. Since 2017, he has been at the helm of this important organisation which forms the backbone of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure. Their work ranges from supporting frontline police officers to safeguarding the nation against cyber threats and delivering critical technology for the public sector.

Ed is a champion for neurodiversity and leads the Business Neurodiversity Network at BT. His passion stems from personal experiences with dyslexia, driving him to enhance opportunities for others in the workplace.

Before taking the reins at BT’s Government business, Ed served as the Sales Director for BT Ventures, a division dedicated to fostering new businesses and markets while staying true to the core capabilities of BT. His approach involves combining the company’s strengths with the nimbleness and innovation of a startup, ultimately nurturing these ventures into self-sustaining businesses.

Prior to joining BT, Ed accumulated nine years of experience at EE/Orange, where he led the Major & Multinational Business division, showcasing his longstanding commitment to telecommunications, technology, and innovation.

Fiona Daniel BA Hons Assoc CIPD, CEO and Founder of FD2i

Fiona is carer, who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise garnered from nearly 30 years financial services experience. She has held a range of roles within Retail and Wealth Management, Commercial Bank, Customer Experience and Learning and Development.

She is an HR qualified, diversity and inclusion leader with many years of experience leading and growing the national and global diversity & inclusion agenda for one of the largest banking and financial service organisations in the world.

Fiona was the first Global Head of Employee Networks, a Senior Global D&I Relationship Manager, the interim Global Head of D&I and the first Head of Diversity and Inclusion for HSBC UK.

She is currently:

• A Non-Executive Director on an NHS Board
• A Non-Executive Director for Thera a charity supporting adults with learning disabilities to lead independent lives.
• Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD)
• Member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
• The founder of Archangelica™ a holistic approach to growing, developing and excelling diverse talent at early, mid and senior careers with Board capability included at all stages.
• Facilitator of DEI programmes and workshops including Level 7 CMI programmes.

She has been named as one of the most influential D&I Leaders of 2020 in the Hive Learning List, one of the Top 50 Must Follow Black Female Entrepreneurs, Influencers and Speakers in 2020, named as one of the Most Influential Black Women in Business to Follow in 2021 and 2023 by CIO Views Magazine, and named an Inspirational Global D&I Leader of 2024 a global list nominated by international D&I professions compiled by D&I Leaders.

Phil Wolfenden, Vice President of Global Technical Services at Cisco

As Vice President of Cisco’s Global Technical Services organisation, part of Cisco’s Customer Experience (CX) Division, Phil heads up a global team of 5,000 senior engineers and technical experts focused on delivering outstanding technical support to Cisco’s customers & partners across the globe.

With almost 30 years of IT and Networking industry experience, Phil’s career spans numerous engineering, management and executive positions.   He joined Cisco in 1997 in the Technical Assistance Centre in Brussels.  During his tenure at Cisco, he has led multi-million dollar businesses including the $2B Technical Services business in EMEAR and the Advanced Services business in Emerging Markets where he built a $400M professional services business across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, growing the business by more than 70% per year and establishing technical centres in 22 countries.

Phil is proud to be one of Cisco’s principal advocates for Inclusion and Diversity in the workplace. He is the Executive Sponsor for Cisco’s Disability Action Network, Hidden Disabilities Network and Cancer Support Network.  Phil sits on numerous external advisory boards and serves as a non-Executive Board Member of Buckingham University in the UK.