Chris Harrison, Chairman

Chris is an independent consultant and executive mentor focusing on leadership, organisational change and working across cultural boundaries. He is an associate of Leaders' Quest and Act4 Group.

Chris spent 30 years with Ernst & Young, the last 19 as a partner. A Chartered Accountant, with a background of working in many industry sectors, Chris focuses on working with the Technology, Outsourcing and Professional Services sectors. Chris has a unique blend of experience in working with global corporates and in entrepreneurial environments.

Chris was European head of the Technology sector at Ernst & Young from 2004 to 2007 . He was Managing Partner of the London office Entrepreneurial Services Group from 1991 to 1996, becoming national head of this service line in 1994. In 1997 he moved to Reading to run the office, and subsequently ran the UK Firm’s South Region for 5 years.

He is a trustee of The Leaders’ Quest Foundation. He is a member of the Appeal Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Matt Clarke

Matt is co-founder and Managing Director of beyondnowhere He works as a catalyst and coach in strengthening individual and team engagement to align with an organisation’s strategic intent, typically working real-time using dialogue and feedback to change behaviours and cultures as part of strategy-led programmes. Matt has worked across a range of large corporate organisations spanning the retail, pharmaceutical and technology sectors.

Prior to founding Beyondnowhere in 2001, Matt worked for Corporate Vision as a management consultant. Their approach involved energising employees to work towards corporate objectives and visions. Matt coached individuals and teams using best practice methods, including psychometric tools such as the Life Styles Inventory (LSI). This work was largely with teams at divisional level.

Between 1989 and 1996, Matt worked in his native Australia as a personal, family and corporate therapist using naturopathic medicines and disciplines to restore people’s health and well-being. Between 1992 and 1996 Matt Lectured at SSNT (Melbourne) - Clinical Medicine and Ethics & Jurisprudence.

Graham Sheffield

Artistic Director of the Barbican Centre since 1995, Graham Sheffield is strategically responsible for programming policy across the art forms – music, drama, dance, cinema, spoken word and the visual arts. He also directs the centre’s acclaimed education programme and the marketing operation, acknowledged as one of the best in the sector.

Graham studied Classics at Tonbridge School and read Music at Edinburgh University.

Outside the Barbican, Graham was Chair of ISPA, the International Society of Performing Arts from 2004 – 2006. He is a council member of Arts Council England, London and was made Doctor of Arts by City University, London in 2004. He was elected Chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society from December 2005. Graham was also named as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2005, alongside becoming a Chevalier de Tastevin de Bourgogne. Prior to working at the Barbican, Graham was Music Director at the South Bank Centre and a Senior Producer for BBC Radio 3. He led a winning Barbican team in television’s University Challenge: The Professionals. Recently Graham became International Artistic Associate for Luminato, a new major multi-arts festival in Toronto, and Director, City of London’s Arts & Culture Forum.

Sandeep Dwesar

Sandeep is Finance Director of both the Barbican Centre and Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

After qualification as a Chartered Accountant, with four years as an auditor, Sandeep moved into industry working for British and American multi national companies, in the UK and in Europe. Following this, he worked as a consultant within local government, working on a variety of different projects, including management training, business process engineering and privatisation initiatives.

Sandeep is also non-executive director of the Bernie Grant Centre, a major arts and education centre in Tottenham. And, until recently Sandeep was non-executive director of Cavendish Ltd, a publisher now part of Informa plc.

Rod Banner

Rod is a marketing "lifer". The first 9 years was spent in advertising agencies (Interpublic, McCanns and Y&R) where he worked on the landmark launches of the VHS video standard, (remember that), Casio and Baileys Irish Cream. In 1984 he founded Banner Corporation, dedicated to solving the marketing needs of the TMT sector.

Banner is a group of 55 passionate Europeans, centred in London, who work right across EMEA. With over 500 years of collective technology marketing expertise and WPP, the world’s largest communications network behind it, the organisation offers almost every marcoms discipline: advertising, direct and digital marketing, event creation and management, media planning and buying.

Besides the Friends of Baale Mane, Rod serves on the board of Byte Night (www.bytenight.org.uk): an annual charity sleep out that raises money for homeless children. He is also a member of the Information Technologists’ Company - the 100th Livery Company of the City of London.

Since selling Banner to WPP, Rod has become an angel investor in a variety of early stage technology companies. He is always on the prowl to expand this portfolio. Besides bringing his network and a whole heap of energy and enthusiasm, his marketing skills and industry knowledge has been shown to make a real difference.

Rod’s hobbies include sailing dangerously close to the wind (usually on a boat), getting himself into deep water (sometimes when scuba diving) and pedalling like a man possessed (often on a bicycle).

Raj Tandon

Balraj Tandon is the founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Park Garage Group Plc.

From Uganda, Balraj and his brother started by helping their parents in ensuring the wellbeing of the family. The early days were spent by simple handwork for long hours working in tandem with Mum and Dad to fulfil their father’s desire that all his children would be well settled and married in the Indian tradition. Today Raj and his brother see this as their best achievement. After these risk averse days with little capital and a desire to establish a company with fiduciary and cooperate responsibility, Raj established PGG plc which now owns or operates some 100 outlets in the UK.

Evolution through innovation and managing change has seen Balraj transform the company from a business that serves petrol to a retailing business that is now in the top 30 independent grocers in the UK. He has spearheaded development and implementation of the Park & Shop brand, a concept soon to be franchised across the UK. A keen advocate of governance, Raj is currently working to gain ISO 9001 accreditation. His passion for people and having a work place of well trained individuals who can be empowered has seen the creation of PGG’s Human Resource and Learning centre.

Balraj oversees a range of strategic, financial, M&A and business performance issues of the company. He is the architect behind the development of an IT structure for enhancement of operations, due diligence, staff and customer relations.

Apart from his role in Park, Balraj is a local advisor to the MPC and involved with some local charities. Balraj is a trustee of the Hindu Society in South London, a charity that furthers Hindu Culture and looks after elderly in the community.

Balraj is a graduate from university of Birmingham and holds masters from LSE. He is currently pursing an executive program at Harvard Business School.

Eileen Peach

Eileen is a Chartered Accountant with many years experience working with entrepreneurs and companies with overseas parents.

She worked and qualified with a small firm before joining Ernst &Young where she spent 19 years looking after Consumer Product Companies and Corporate Charities.

Eileen and her husband Chris (a family doctor ) have three daughters aged 21, 18 and 12 so she understands the needs and demands of growing girls.

Kunku Soota

Kunku is co-founder and Director of Kudos Consulting established in May 2006 that offers organisational change consultancy, executive coaching and career management services. She is also governance adviser to International Development Economics Associates, a network of economists seeking to influence international research and policy on poverty reduction.

Kunku has extensive experience in supporting people and organisations through change and transition. She believes passionately that positive regard and support enables people to surprise themselves and achieve the goals that mean most to them and their organisations.

Kunku’s career started in India in the 70s where her roles encompassed that of university lecturer at Lady Shri Ram College; educational publisher at Oxford University Press and educational adviser to the British Council.

She moved to the UK in the late 80s where she has worked in the not- for-profit sector.

In recent years she has been Head of Organisation Development, The Anchor Trust; Head of Human Resources, Berkshire Social Services; Head of OD & later Interim Director, Warwickshire Social Services and Head of Corporate Strategy, Reading Borough Council.

Underpinning her work is a belief that collectively we can make a difference to people’s lives. Kunku has been involved with voluntary work both in India and the UK. Her focus has been empowerment of women and girl children as well as capacity building for the organisations that support them.

Kunku is the mother of a lovely daughter whose 3 daughters aged 4, 2 and one just arrived bring much joy and a reminder that not all women and girl children have the same life chances.