Our Trustees
The CHAS Trustees, also the Board of Directors, have many years of experience in a number of fields covering both the public and private sectors. They’re passionate, committed and responsible for the general governance and oversight of CHAS’s work.
Directors are appointed in accordance with the Articles of Association and are recruited for their skills and experience in areas relevant to the activities of CHAS. Our current board come from backgrounds such as parenting, nursing, paediatrics, social services, finance, business, investment management, legal, risk management and PR/communications.
Donald Macdonald
Donald advises the board on legal matters. He is a member of the Corporate Governance and Risk Committee.
Since leaving University in 1990 and qualifying as a solicitor Donald has been employed in a range of roles within the legal function of The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest group of companies.
Peter Smyth
Peter brings vast experience and knowledge of Public Affairs to the Board. He is a member of the Corporate Governance and Risk Committee.
Peter is Director of Public Affairs and Deputy Managing Director at independent communications agency Indigo, where he's worked for more than eight years.
Gillian Donald
Gillian’s precious son Fin was supported by CHAS in the last few years of his life.
Gillian grew up in Northern Ireland, but Aberdeen became her home after she studied law at the University of Aberdeen. She qualified as a solicitor in 2001, specialising in employment law. Most of her career was spent in a prominent Aberdeen law firm where she was partner and head of employment.
Sophia Salim
Being the parent of a young person with disabilities Sophia has first hand experience of the challenges and issues children with complex needs and their families face.
Sophia graduated in 2005 in Accountancy and has been a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) since 2015.
Faraz Hussain
Faraz was elected as a trustee of CHAS in September 2022.
In 2017 Faraz obtained his Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Accountancy from Glasgow Caledonian University. Since graduating, he has worked with multiple prestigious financial institutions such as Santander, Deloitte and Morgan Stanley.
Nigel Barry
Nigel is a retired investment manager with a 30-year career specialising in equity markets for institutional clients.
Bringing a wealth of experience to the table, Nigel possesses a keen ability to engage with and oversee CHAS's two investment managers responsible for managing the organisation's charitable assets.
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