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Board of Governors
Perrett Laver conducted a global search targeting 130 individuals
Individuals were invited to formal interviews
Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation funding curiosity-driven research tackling three of the biggest health challenges facing humanity – climate change, infectious disease, and mental health. With a £36.8 billion investment portfolio, Wellcome gives researchers the time and resources they need to make breakthroughs. In addition, Wellcome work with policymakers, run advocacy campaigns, and form partnerships with other organisations to ensure everyone, everywhere benefits from advances in health science.
Perrett Laver was delighted to support the Wellcome Trust with the appointment of two Governors in 2023, having recently aided them in the appointment of a member of their Audit and Risk Committee earlier in the year. There were two clear briefs for the appointments, across estates and investment.
Given the scale and nature of the Wellcome Trust’s estate, they were seeking an individual with estates experience of the highest order, who could seamlessly transition into supporting with the strategic direction and management of a large and complex infrastructure which spanned multiple asset classes. Additionally, as the scale of the Trust’s assets under management is approximately £36 billion, candidates for the investment role required a huge amount of experience working within investment globally, of a suitable scale and complexity to understand something of the context in which the Trust operates.
Furthermore, candidates would need to be of a suitable calibre and profile to warrant credibility with the Trust’s internal and external stakeholders, as well as the wider basis of leadership and non-executive experience that would equip them well to be part of the board for this significant national and international institution.
Given the specificities of the brief, our outreach was targeted, and we reached out to approximately 130 individuals across both roles. This resulted in a field of over 50 candidates, of whom 23 were invited to interview with Perrett Laver. The Wellcome Trust shortlisted seven candidates (four for the investment brief, three for the estates brief) and appointed two candidates.
Sir Stephen, former National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, was previously Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, and as such was responsible for accounting for an annual budget for an annual budget of £40 billion, and responsible for one of the largest estates in the country. In addition, he serves on the board of Grosvenor Britain and Ireland, the principal operating company of the Grosvenor Estate, where he currently Chairs the Audit and Risk Committee.
Diana has worked in investment and development for much of her career, having previously been CEO of the CDC Group, the UK’s £6 billion development finance institution. In addition to her roles at the Bank of England, where she is Vice-Chair and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Diana also serves on the boards of Brookfield Asset Management and Kirkos Partners.
