Christine Hayward MBA CQSW
– Chairman

Christine has chaired the Board since 2010. She has worked previously as a Group Director for North East Essex Social Services and a Director for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. This experience has been extremely valuable when assessing applications.

Peter Fitt FCA
– Company Secretary

Peter Fitt is a Chartered Accountant and was first engaged by the charity in 1974. Shortly afterwards he was invited to join the board and has been a member ever since. He has continued to share his financial knowledge with the charity since then to expand the organisation.

Mark Pertwee BA (Hons)
– Vice Chairman

Mark has been the Managing Director of Pertwee Estates Ltd for 31 years. During that time he has managed various kinds of property and business operations. His broad business experience is hugely valuable to Catalyst when assessing new applications.

Max Hickman MB B. Chir DCH
– Director

Max has been a GP in North East Essex over 30 years. During that time, he has been involved with various innovative health service commissioning roles and leadership positions. This experience is very helpful when advising on the health benefits of applications.

Elizabeth Thrower DipCOT MHCPC
– Director

Elizabeth has worked for years as a highly experienced Occupational Therapist, focused on the health of young people. She has provided valuable advice and expertise on many occasions to assist with applications concentrated on the well-being of young people.

Joan Busfield MA PhD
– Director

Joan trained initially as a clinical psychologist at the Tavistock Clinic. Her research at the University of Essex has also focused on psychiatry and mental illness. Her knowledge in this area has been of great benefit to the Trustees when considering applications.

Keith Songhurst LLB (Hons)
– Director

Keith is the Head of Risk and Compliance at Birkett Long. He has also spent many years practising as a Dispute Resolution lawyer. His years of comprehensive legal experience has been very helpful to Catalyst when dealing with a wide variety of applications.

Iain Turner – MBA BA (Hons)
– Director

Iain has a wealth of experience as a Managing Director for a number of large businesses that deal with high-profile equity products. This includes time spent at Deutsche Bank. His extensive finance expertise is essential when assessing the financial viability of new applications.

Sean MacDonnell
– Director

Sean has worked previously at Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust for many years in a number of senior positions, including time spent as a Clinical Director and a Consultant Anaesthetist. He has provided very useful advice on valuable medical issues when applications are considered.