Trustees

Alex Fitzgibbons - Co-Chair (Pictured)

Alex is Chairman of Fait Accompli, one of the world’s leading event organisers. He has been a supporter of Child Bereavement UK for a number of years and in 2015 he raised £250,000 for the charity by competing in an Ironman in Kalmar, Sweden; and in 2020 he ran, cycled and kayaked over 2020 kilometres from London to Stockholm raising over £1m. Alex is married with five children and splits his time between Sweden and the UK. He is also a Trustee of the GD Charitable Trust and a previous trustee of the Eve Appeal.

Liz Gratton – Co-Chair 

Liz is an experienced Customer Services and Marketing Director. She worked for over 20 years in the retail banking sector and was part of the early leadership teams at First Direct in the early 1990’s and the world’s first internet bank, Egg, in the late 90’s until its sale in the mid 2000’s. At that stage Liz decided to change sector completely and, after a period of working for several start-ups set up by her and her husband, eventually joined the charity sector, where she was Director of Fundraising and Marketing for a children’s hospice in Staffordshire for almost 10 years. 

Therese Mayhew – Vice Chair

For the past 20 years Therese Mayhew has been an owner and director of Blue Strawberry Events and Table Talk, leading London catering and events companies. Born in Sweden and educated in Switzerland and France with degrees in International Relations and Art History, Therese also holds an MBA from INSEAD. Prior to joining the events world, she worked at Christie’s, Citibank Private Bank and lastminute.com. Therese most recently lived in Dubai and Spain for several years and now lives in the UK with her husband Gavin and their four children. Therese and Gavin were introduced to Child Bereavement UK by their close friend Alex Fitzgibbons following the death of their middle daughter India in 2015 and received invaluable support from Founder Patron Julia Samuel. 

Neil Musgrove – Treasurer

Neil is an experienced commercial Finance Director with a career spanning several senior finance leadership roles at Experian. Neil trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Neil has experienced first-hand the impact that losing a parent had on his three children after the tragic death of his wife, Rachael, in 2019. 

Deborah Eaton KC

Deborah is joint Head of Chambers at 1 Kings Bench Walk. A pre-eminent authority in child law for many years, she frequently handles some of the most significant and far-reaching cases in this sphere, including those with an international angle. She is also highly respected in the matrimonial finance field, with extensive experience in ancillaryrelief cases and prenuptial agreements and has a particular interest in the mental health of children in disputes. Deborah is passionate about her work for Child Bereavement UK.

Huxley Knox-Macaulay

Huxley worked for over 30 years as a teacher and school leader in both urban and coastal communities, some with high levels of deprivation. Until recently he was the CEO of a multi academy trust comprising primary and secondary schools and has experienced the positive impact of the work of Child Bereavement UK on children and families.

Lucy Clements

Lucy has worked for the NHS and Local Authorities across London and the South East for the past 16 years. She has led clinical services in acute healthcare organisations and more recently worked as the Director of Children’s Commissioning and Transformation across Surrey. Her experience in the public sector, and specifically across health and care organisations, supports Child Bereavement UK to deliver services which always have children, parents and families at their heart.  Having lost her father to cancer at the age of 6, Lucy knows first-hand how complex the grieving process can be, and how important the work of Child Bereavement UK is in supporting children and young people in managing their grief in a way which is individualised for them.

Peter West BA (Hons), MSc

Peter trained as a Chartered Accountant and has spent much of his career as what is now referred to as a fractional CFO of a number of start-ups and SMEs, anywhere from soft toys (Jellycat Toys) to software - he is currently FD of Tangent 90, which develops technology for pharmaceutical marketing. He is also Chair of Trustees for North London Conservatoire, which brings music education to 1,000+ children, and has been variously Governor/Trustee and FD of SASH Education Trust, which has created two new schools in Slough over the last 15 years.

Roz Shafran

Roz Shafran is an Emeritus Professor of Translational Psychology and a clinical psychologist. She has dedicated her career to improving the mental health of adults and children by developing and evaluating psychological interventions. Roz is passionate about ensuring that support is accessible to every child and family who needs it, and that it is always grounded in evidence. 

Shahreen Jivraj-Virani 

Shahreen is the CFO and shareholder of Serencroft, an award-winning family business specialising in health and social care which employs over 500 people. Serencroft has recently launched a health tech investment arm under her leadership.  Shahreen is a non-executive director for a company focused on real estate and hospitality investments in East Africa and has an interest in impact investing. She began her career as an investment banker, concentrating on capital markets and M&A in emerging markets at Credit Suisse First Boston. Shahreen is committed to community upliftment and is involved in mentoring young people through the Aspire programme, dedicated to empowering the next generation. Child Bereavement UK represents a cause that resonates personally with her following her own experiences with family bereavement and foetal abnormalities, reflecting her desire to give back and support others facing similar challenges.

Tim Manasseh  BA (Hons), MSc

Since leaving his Senior Partner role at Korn Ferry, where for over 7 years he specialised in organisation and talent consulting in the Consumer Goods industry, Tim now works as a freelance Senior Adviser. Prior to that he was a Managing Director at Accenture, where he served on the global leadership team of the firm’s Consumer Goods practice. Previously Tim worked for Roland Berger, a strategy firm, in Chicago and London, as well as KPMG in both Europe and the US. Tim has been a spokesperson on several industry issues, has authored papers on key industry trends, and has featured as a speaker at numerous industry events. Tim has two grown up sons.

Umairah Malik

Umairah is Clinical and Co-production Manager at Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity. She leads work to ensure the charity’s work is informed by clinical expertise, lived experiences, and good-quality research. She also oversees co-production projects, a programme seeking to improve access to treatment in line with guidance, and a campaign for improved care in the community. Umairah is passionate about ensuring children, young people, parents and families are able get the support they need after a bereavement, and that they are involved in the development of services and research to the fullest.