Sam Swire
Chairman
Sam Swire is an Executive Director of John Swire and Sons Ltd in London. He is also a Director of Swire Pacific Limited and John Swire and Sons Australia. He has a degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford. He joined the Swire Group in Hong Kong in 2003 and has worked with the group in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Sri Lanka, and London.
Edward Watson
Executive Director and Trustee
Teddy Watson spent over thirty years in the reinsurance industry, primarily in the City and New York, where he was a director and chairman of a number of international broking and underwriting businesses.
His current appointments include: Associate Fellow, University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Chairman of the Norwegian agri-tech company, Sensonomic AS. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the British Exploring Society, of which he was Chairman from 2008 to 2017. He was also Member of Council (governor) at Radley College from 2012 -2020.
Alexa Sale
Assistant Manager
Alexa started her career as an editorial assistant in children’s publishing before moving into fundraising, working for the NSPCC and for the British Museum Development Department. She has since worked in the financial services and professional services sectors holding broad administrative support roles for a corporate finance advisory firm and a fund administrator in its start-up phase and for the co-founder of the management consultancy Eden McCallum LLP. Alexa has an MA in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She is also a Coram Beanstalk reading volunteer.
Professor Kristine Black-Hawkins
Trustee
Kristine Black-Hawkins is Emeritus Professor of Inclusive Education, at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She has held a Guest Lectureship at Bielefeld University, Germany and a Teaching Fellowship at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She is an Editorial Board member of five international education journals.
Kristine’s research focuses on how the development of teachers as professionals, and schools as institutions, can support the achievements of all learners including those most vulnerable to educational marginalisation. Her research has been funded by the Department of Education, Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy. She began her career teaching in schools and working for local government.
Professor Jane Duckett
Trustee
Jane Duckett is Edward Caird Chair of Politics, International Dean (East Asia), and Director of the Scottish Centre for China Research at the University of Glasgow. She is also Guest Professor at Nankai University (Tianjin, China). In 2012, she received the Lord Provost of Glasgow Education Award. In 2014 she was elected President of the British Association for Chinese Studies. In 2016 she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
Jane has worked as a policy and social development consultant on several internationally-funded aid projects in China. Her research has been funded by the ESRC, Leverhulme Trust, British Council, British Academy, and the European Commission.
JB Rae-Smith
Trustee
JB Rae-Smith studied engineering at Cambridge University. He joined the Swire Group in 1985 and has worked with the Group in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
He was a Director of Swire Pacific Limited, a company listed in Hong Kong, from January 2013 to August 2016 and was the Executive Director of the Marine Services Division from 2005 to 2016, the Trading & Industrial Division between 2008 and 2016 and Chairman of the Swire Group Charitable Trust. He has led or has been involved with many Swire Group businesses over the years and is presently Chairman of United States Cold Storage and a Director of several other Swire Private Group businesses. He is also a Director of The China Navigation Company, and Swire Bulk, the Swire Group’s deep sea shipping businesses based in Singapore and Steamships Trading Company in Papua New Guinea.
He has also been a Director of the Standard P&I Club, Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association, Chairman of the Lloyds Asian Ship Owners Committee and a Director of the Singapore Environmental Council.
Dr Christian Toennesen
Trustee
Christian is Director of Sustainability at Selfridges Group, where he helps develop and implement the vision of reinventing retail for a better future for people and planet; from transitioning to low-carbon operations to mainstreaming new circular business models. Prior to joining Selfridges Group, he spent 13 years in management consultancy, specialising in sustainable business transformation.
Christian did his military service in the Royal Danish Navy and completed a doctorate at the Oxford Martin School as the first James Martin Scholar. His research focused on identifying the mechanisms by which corporations can stay in business for the long term.
In his spare time, he likes running, birdwatching and snow.
