Judging panel

Andy Bird, Executive Coach, Mentor & Author
Tahmid Chowdhury, Senior Account Director, M&C Saatchi World Services
Simon Gillespie, CEO, British Heart Foundation
Dalton Leong, Independent Chair, Surrey VCSE Alliance
Greg Sage, Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs and ESG, Royal Mail Plc
Helen Townshend, Professional and Personal Coach
Kate Wright, Content Editor, Posturite

Andy Bird, Executive Coach, Mentor & Author
Andy Bird is an executive coach who provides support, challenge and guidance for people looking to flourish and succeed as leaders. He works with his clients in a spirit of close partnership, helping them think through the many challenges they face in their business activities and relationships. More fundamentally, he supports people as they craft their own distinctive leadership approach based on their core values, passions and talents. Andy combines an open, engaging manner with over 35 years of commercial, consultancy and leadership experience. This blend enables him to support individuals with both what they need to do in their roles, as well as who they aspire to be as leaders. He provides executive coaching and learning programmes for a diverse range of start ups, agencies, charities and blue-chip corporates. He is qualified with an MSc in Coaching & Behavioural Change from Henley Business School and is accredited as a Master Executive Coach by the Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS).

Tahmid Chowdhury, Senior Account Director, M&C Saatchi World Services
Tahmid Chowdhury is a Senior Account Director at M&C Saatchi World Services, a specialist communications agency focused on driving critical global and social change. In 2018, he co-founded Here for Good, a charity providing free immigration services to support European nationals and their families post-Brexit. In 2020, he was named on the Forbes Under 30 list for his work; and in 2022, the charity expanded its services to support Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict. He sits on several charities' boards and has been a judge at the Charity Times Awards since 2020.

Simon Gillespie, CEO, British Heart Foundation
Simon retired as CEO of the British Heart Foundation at the end of 2019, at the end of a career that included 23 years in the Royal Navy, two senior roles in Government regulators, and also Chief Executive of the MS Society. He was awarded the OBE in 2019 for services to ‘patients and medical research’ and was UK CEO of the year in 2018 and 2019. In ‘retirement’, he is continuing a number of his trustee roles. He has recently become a Special Constable for Cheshire Police and a specialist advisor on non-communicable diseases for the World Health Organisation. Later this year, he will join the board of an NHS Trust in north west England.

Dalton Leong, Independent Chair, Surrey VCSE Alliance
Dalton has worked in the private sector and not-for-profit sector. Firstly, in banking and financial services; working with retail, corporate and high net worth clients. After becoming a founding trustee of Shooting Star Children’s Hospice in 1995, he later joined them as Chief Executive. He was also Chief Executive of The Children’s Trust and Managing Director of Global (Radio) Charities, leading the appeals, corporate social responsibility programme and grant-giving at Capital, Heart and Classic FM, amongst others. He is now a Non-Executive Director, with a focus on improving health and care outcomes for Surrey’s residents. He is a Trustee of the National Emergencies Trust and chairs their Fundraising and Communications Committee and Equity Scrutiny Group; and also a Chartered Companion of the Chartered Management Institute.

Greg Sage, Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs and ESG, Royal Mail Plc
Greg Sage is Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs and ESG at Royal Mail Plc where his responsibilities include leading on the company’s ESG strategy. Prior to joining Royal Mail in February 2022, he spent over six years as Corporate Affairs Director at Greene King, Greg also spent 13 years at Tesco Plc where he held a variety of corporate affairs roles, including most recently as UK Community Director, with responsibility for the UK's community and charity programmes. Starting his working life as a journalist on local newspapers, Greg has also worked in a variety of communications roles at Hearst Magazines, Express Newspapers, Sainsbury's and IPC media.

Helen Townshend, Professional and Personal Coach
Helen is an executive and life coach. She has a particular focus on working alongside entrepreneurs in the social impact space. Prior to coaching, her career embraced marketing at board level in blue chip companies, through to setting up her own fashion business. She holds an MBA in Strategic Marketing, and M.Sc. in Social and Cultural Anthropology. She is currently undertaking a doctoral research degree in Coaching and Mentoring. Her investigation considers how coaching works for people experiencing tensions between their personal values and the workplace.

Kate Wright, Content Editor, Posturite
Kate Wright manages the strategic partnership of Posturite with the Stroke Association and loves to build enthusiasm across every corner of the business for the chosen charity. A former Account Director at the fundraising agency ChangeStar, Kate has 20 years’ experience in charity marketing communications. She is Content Editor at the wellbeing at work specialist Posturite and has helped to create and develop their new CSR programme.