Regional directors appointed

The Canal & River Trust has appointed six new regional directors to drive the next phase of its development, as it takes forward their transformation to become a charity for waterways and wellbeing, enriching the lives of millions of local people with waterways on their doorstep.

The appointments, including four external candidates, bring a rich and diverse range of experience to the Trust, including from the heritage, charity and local government sectors.

The appointments are:

• regional director, London & South East – Ros Daniels, who joins the Trust with extensive experience of the heritage and tourism sector, most recently as Head of Historic Properties, London at English Heritage

• regional director, Wales & South West – Richard Thomas, who joins the Trust following a long and successful career in the Royal Navy

• regional director, West Midlands – Adnan Saif, who joins the Trust having worked for over 20 years in senior positions in local government, regeneration and economic development, and is currently Chief Executive of the British Muslim Heritage Centre

• regional director, East Midlands – Phil Mulligan, who joins the Trust with extensive senior management experience in the voluntary sector notably as Chief Executive of the Landscape Institute, Executive Director of the United Nations Association UK, and Chief Executive of Environmental Protection UK

• regional director, Yorkshire & North East – Sean McGinley, currently East Midlands Waterway Manager, who has worked on the waterways in management and engineering posts for 16 years

• interim regional director, North West – Daniel Greenhalgh (for up to 12 months) a senior manager at the Trust responsible for delivery of major canal infrastructure projects and who formerly led on the delivery of all the Trust’s operational contracts

The Trust has established two new permanent posts and appointed internal candidates in areas requiring very specific additional focus:

• Tav Kazmi, currently acting waterway manager for the South East, is appointed as deputy director, London & South East, recognising the scale and impact of London & South East as a region, with many complex challenges specific to the capital and its surrounding area, and with huge potential opportunities for the Trust to grasp

• Ian Lane, currently waterway manager for the West Midlands, is appointed as head of operational projects in the West Midlands in recognition of the extensive and unique opportunities in the region over the next few years, notably Coventry City of Culture 2021, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, and in the near term the ongoing development of the Roundhouse project

• In addition, the Trust has appointed interim head of boating, Jon Horsfall, as head of customer service support to lead the organisation’s customer service functions, including boating

Julie Sharman chief operating Officer at the Trust, comments: “I am delighted to welcome such a diverse and high-calibre team to the Trust. It has been a rigorous recruitment process that has attracted very high-quality applicants and which reflects the really exciting opportunity the Trust has to make a real difference to the lives of millions of people, including in some of the most deprived parts of the country.

“As we focus on bringing the benefits of the waterways to communities across England & Wales, the appointment of our regional directors is at the heart of our proposals to transform the charity, strengthen the accountability of regional teams, and to shift our structure to engage more effectively with prospective partners and the outside world – whilst also enabling the Trust to act quickly and efficiently at every level.”

The Trust’s new regional structure goes live on 4 June. The external appointees will be joining the Trust during July and August with interim arrangements in place until then.

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