Our Volunteers
UNICEF UK is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for overseeing that UNICEF UK is achieving its mission and strategic objectives and that it complies with legal requirements and charity regulations. The Board also appoints the Executive Director. Trustee roles are voluntary positions filled by open recruitment processes.
UNICEF UK’s Board is guided by the voluntary Charity Governance Code for larger charities, which is a tool to help charities and their trustees develop high standards of governance.
Shatish Dasani (Chair) Shatish brings a broad skillset from over 25 years’ experience in business leadership roles, including on public company Boards. He is currently Senior Independent Director at Renew Holdings plc, and Non-Executive Director at Genuit Group plc, SIG plc and Speedy Hire plc. He was previously CFO at Forterra plc and TT Electronics plc. Shatish has significant international experience, having travelled extensively and lived on different continents. He graduated from Oxford University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an MBA. He joined the Board in 2020.
Sarah Davis (Vice-Chair) Sarah joined the board of UNICEF UK in 2017 and was appointed Vice Chair in 2019. Sarah is an experienced media industry General Counsel and Non-Executive Director. Most recently as global Group Legal Affairs Director at ITV Plc and before that many years at global news organisation The Guardian Media Group. Alongside her legal career Sarah also has over 20 years’ non-executive board experience with organisations including Poet in the City, The Media Trust, UEL, Society of Authors and currently The Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Sean Carney (Treasurer) Sean is the COO of Kensington Palace and former COO/CFO of Telemos Capital, a family-funded private equity firm. Previously, he was COO of The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, after a career in corporate finance/investment banking with Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Merrill Lynch. He holds a US Law degree from the University of Chicago and an honours BA in economics from Harvard College. Sean was co-opted in 2019.
Usama Al-Qassab (Trustee) Usama leads the Marketing, Communications, Digital, Broadcast, Retail, Hospitality and Partnerships for The Championships Wimbledon and the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Previously he has held leadership positions at Sony PlayStation, Disney and Procter & Gamble across Europe, Middle East, Africa, India and Australasia. Whilst at P&G his team designed and delivered the Pampers ‘one pack = one vaccine’ partnership alongside UNICEF to eradicate newborn and neonatal tetanus. Usama joined the board in September 2020 and in his spare time can be found coaching youth age grade rugby to boys and girls in South London.
Richard Hawkes Richard is Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust, which was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to drive positive change across South Asia. He has held a range of senior roles in the UK and international not-for-profit sector for more than 25 years, including working for the United Nations and being Chair of BOND (the umbrella body for UK international NGOs) for five years. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the World Humanitarian Forum and of the UK’s Charity Bank.
Alex Connock (Vice-Chair) Alex is an academic in Media and Artificial Intelligence. He is Senior Fellow at Said Business School, Oxford University and St Hugh’s College Oxford. He is also Professor at the University of Exeter, and the University of Sunderland. Commercially, he has founded and run a number of TV and advertising production companies. He wrote the 2022 book ‘Media Management and Artificial Intelligence’ and the 2024 book ‘Media Management and Live Experience’, both published by Routledge.
Maggie Atkinson Maggie is a consultant and experienced Board member. Her work focuses on safeguarding children and adults, tackling injustices and inequalities. An Honorary Professor at Keele, she enjoys the rigorous debates that work entails. From 2010-15 Maggie was England’s Children’s Commissioner, strengthening the role’s impact and championing children’s rights. Her career started in education and local government, including as a DCS and President of ADCS.
Matt Ferguson Matt is Director of Development & Alumni Engagement at Warwick University where he is leading an ambitious agenda to inspire a culture of philanthropy in support of world-leading research and student support. Previously, Matt spent 10 years at King’s College London, latterly as Chief Development Officer. He has significant expertise in transformational philanthropy, particularly in Asia, and was part of the leadership team behind the College’s World questions|King’s answers campaign that raised £610 million.
Zamila Skingsley Zamila recently held the role of International Director at the UK Department for Education on an extended secondment, leading on bilateral and multilateral international education partnerships, mobility programs, trade, higher education and data. She is formerly Deputy Head of Unit at the Cabinet Office, Race Disparity Unit where she was the founding architect of the world-leading Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, tackling ethnic disparities and has worked with the United Nations in conflict countries in Dafur, Sudan and Kathmandu, Nepal. Zamila also holds Director/NED roles at the Heywood Foundation, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership King’s College and Concern Worldwide and is a Fellow at the London School of Economics.
Accountability and Goverance
Our supporter Commitment
Annual Reports