Funding Committee of the City Bridge Foundation Board
The Funding Committee
The Funding Committee is a Committee of the City Bridge Foundation Board, and a sub-committee of the Court of Common Council. The Funding Committee meets at least four times in any calendar year.
The Funding Committee is comprised of five elected members of the Board, and four external co-opted Members.
The Funding Committee oversees City Bridge Foundation’s charitable funding and social investments. This aims to improve the lives of the inhabitants of Greater London – by working to reduce inequality and foster strong, more resilient and thriving communities in pursuit of a London that serves everyone.
Funding Committee Members
Paul works in the food sector at Smithfield Market, where he started over 50 years ago checking invoices for his father, for which pay was a fish and chip supper and entry to watch Millwall Football Club play at The Den.
He worked throughout his time at university, where he studied classics, and after a short period working for the Botswana government, returned to Smithfield to start his current business – PJM Ltd.
He holds a wide range of positions in the City of London, including serving as treasurer of the Smithfield Market Tenants Association, liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers and an elected member of the City of London Corporation since 2013.
Paul says: “If you ask why I wanted to join the City Bridge Foundation board, I can answer in one word – London. It’s about improving what we can change, replacing what we can’t with something better and working to ensure all Londoners can say that someone is on their side.”
Nighat is a reinsurance professional with more than 20 years in the industry, working as operations manager in the reinsurance casualty treaty team at Sompo International.
She has previously worked as an analyst for PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a consultant in energy, health and chemical industries for Accenture and held various roles with reinsurance company GenRe, including five years in Mumbai, India, as Property & Casualty Country Head.
An elected City of London Corporation member, she is also chairperson of the largest Scout group in Surrey, and a representative of the City of London Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.
Nighat says: “Volunteering at the local refugee and asylum sector during Covid, I saw at first hand the impact organisations in the sector had, which motivated me to join the foundation’s board. I hope to use my corporate experience to support the work that goes into maintaining our five bridges.”
John is a founder director of Rocket Science UK Ltd, a public-policy consulting company based in the City.
He is also involved in several civil society organisations, as a trustee of Partnership for Young London, as a member of the Haberdashers Company’s Charities Committee and on the board of the Dr Johnson’s House.
A former councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and current elected member of the City of London Corporation, John is a regular blogger on London’s civil society and has degrees in history from Cambridge University and the University of Alabama.
Deborah’s profession is corporate communications, improving influence and impact for national bodies.
Her background is in sectors including legal services, health, regulation and government. She has leadership experience, having previously held the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserves, and serves on the City Reserve Forces and Cadets Association Committee.
Deborah was elected to the City of London Corporation in 2022 and chairs its Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee. She is a Past Master of the Company of Communicators.
James is non-executive Chairman of MJ Gleeson plc – the listed house builder focused on building low-cost affordable homes for first time buyers. He is a board member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and a non-executive director of the Serious Fraud Office.
He has spent the last 20 years working in industry including for Smiths Group, the FTSE 100 listed international engineering company and as Group Finance Director of DTZ Holdings plc. Prior to becoming CEO of Gleeson he was Chief Executive of Keepmoat, the largest private developer of affordable homes in the UK.
James trained as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and spent 10 years in investment banking at HSBC and Deutsche Bank. At HSBC he spent three years in South Africa advising the ANC-led Government of National Unity.
Elected to the City of London Corporation in 2013, he is Deputy Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board and Chair of its Economic Crime Committee, which has oversight of the work of the force as national lead force for fraud and its national responsibilities in economic and cybercrime.
Profile to follow
Holly is investment director for Fair4All Finance, a not-for-profit organisation working to boost financial inclusion, and is responsible for funding and investments to expand the provision of affordable credit.
She was previously head of CAF Venturesome, one of the most active social investment funds in the UK, leading a team making hundreds of affordable social investments to a wide range of social organisations. She is also a member of the inaugural WISE100 – the top 100 women in social enterprise and impact investment.
Holly says: “City Bridge Foundation is an incredibly important funder for London – the greatest city in the world – in particular its long-term support for community groups, charities and social enterprises working to make London a more equal, welcoming and inclusive city.
“I’m excited to be joining the funding committee at a pivotal time as the foundation refreshes its funding strategy and makes the most of its refreshed remit for social investments.”
Cliff is currently board advisor at Gifftid – a leading platform advancing impact entrepreneurship – having previously served as CEO at GSG Impact, Better Society Capital, UnLtd – the foundation for Social Entrepreneurs – and the charity Rethink Mental Illness.
He is an advisor to the think tank Vision, Impact X, GSG Impact, and the Impact Licensing Initiative, and in his spare time is a keen scuba diver, hiker and music lover.
Cliff says: “As the largest foundation in my home city of London, City Bridge Foundation has shown outstanding innovations, creating platforms which allow social mission organisations to flourish.
“I hope to bring my experience to the table, particularly when it comes to understanding the impact of our funding, and with the development of social impact investing to help charities and social enterprises to thrive.”
Karin is chief executive of Cambridge House – a social action charity which works to tackle poverty, social injustice and social inequity across London.
Honoured with a CBE for services to social justice in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2021, she also received the prestigious lifetime achiever award at the 2016 Excellence in Diversity Awards.
Her previous roles include serving as chief executive of the educational charity ContinYou, the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and the Tabernacle Centre for Arts and Learning.
Karin chairs the Race Equality Foundation, is a trustee of food distribution charity The Felix Project and a member of the National Lottery Community Fund England Committee.
Karin says: “Serving on the funding committee enables me to use my lived experience as a Black woman living with a mental health condition, a Londoner and a charity leader with nearly 40 years’ experience to help the foundation achieve its mission.”
Contact information
Support officer: Joseph Anstee
Email: joseph.anstee@cityoflondon.gov.uk