The Executives, Board Members and Trustees of Re-form… | Re-form

MEET THE TEAM

Alasdair Brooks /Chief Executive/


Alasdair Brooks

Chief Executive

Dr Alasdair Brooks has over 30 years’ international experience in the heritage sector and holds a DPhil in archaeology from the University of York. He has worked in a range of heritage management, museum, and academic roles in his native UK, the USA, Australia, South America, the Persian Gulf, and Egypt. From 2016-2019, he was Heritage Manager for the British Red Cross, running their museum and archives service, and was subsequently Artefacts Coordinator with Hill International’s Operational Management Consultancy at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.


Alasdair is the current president of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, Europe’s leading society for the study of the archaeology of the modern world, and he is a former member of the Board of Directors of the US-based Society for Historical Archaeology. He received the latter organisation’s Carol V. Ruppé Distinguished Service Award in 2018.


Alasdair’s main research interest is 19th-century British ceramics in international context, with a core interest in transfer-printed ceramics. He has published on the consumption of, and international trade in, Staffordshire ceramics in the UK, Australia, Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Chile.

Dave Paulsom /Finance Director/


Dave Poulsom

Finance Director

Dave is a Chartered Accountant who has held a number of senior financial leadership roles in both the private and public sector. Dave has a MA in Leadership from Exeter University as well as Prince 2 and MSP Practitioner level qualification


Having spent his early career in the construction and Railway industries Dave moved to the voluntary sector in 2006 as Director of Finance for the Children's Workforce Development Council. In 2012 Dave Joined the Department for Education where he spent 5 years acting as senior Finance Business Partner for the Departments delivery agencies and the Education Funding Agency schools £5bn Capital Programme.


In his spare time Dave is an active trustee and governor for four South Yorkshire based disadvantaged children and young people focused charities and special schools as well as a keen gardener, motorcyclist and general lover of the outdoors.




Re-Form Heritage
Board Members

Harry Wardill

Chairman

Harry is the CEO of Turquoise Mountain – a charity focused on the preservation of craft and built heritage in conflict affected areas - which he first worked with in 2009, designing and project managing the delivery of a number of buildings for the Afghan Institute for Arts and Architecture in Kabul. Following this, he went on to complete a scholarship with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and then worked for the Prince's Regeneration Trust, where he delivered projects including the regeneration of Middleport Pottery, now owned and run by Re-Form Heritage. He returned to Turquoise Mountain in 2014 as Country Director for Myanmar, setting up and running the project there for five years, before returning to the UK to take up a central role, and is now CEO.

Harry studied engineering at Cambridge University, and originally worked as a structural engineer, becoming a Chartered member of the Institute of Structural Engineers during his time at Alan Baxter and Associates in London.

He joined the board of Re-Form Heritage in spring 2022.

TRUSTEES

Alison Beardsley

Trustee

Alison joined the board of Re-Form Heritage in 2010, when she also joined the board of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust. She assisted the PRT management with their review of the legal documentation relating to the purchase and leaseback of Middleport Pottery to Denby.

She supports the Re-Form Heritage board with its assessment of legal risk and is a member of its audit committee and nominations committee.

Alison has over 25 years’ experience as a corporate finance lawyer at Allen & Overy LLP, including 19 years as a partner and two years as a member of the firm’s global board.

Manuela Belle

Trustee

Trustee of Re-Form Heritage. Project Director as well as a member of the leadership team for the Public Sector at Arcadis (ex EC Harris), a leading global natural and built asset design & consultancy firm.

Manuela in her role leads a number of multimillion high profile capital projects and programmes for central and local government clients and manages a 20/25 people strong team.

Prior to joining Arcadis Manuela delivered high-profile public-funded heritage regeneration projects for The Prince's Regeneration Trust, a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales.

Amanda Brooke

Trustee

Amanda is Managing Director of ExtraMile Communications Ltd a digital marketing agency in Stone, Staffordshire.

Amanda moved into the MD role after 25 years as a Business and Leadership Consultant where, she worked with business leaders to challenge their processes and create solid foundations on which to grow their companies. She specialises in strategic development, leadership and management development, efficiency and productivity improvement, as well as identifying diversification opportunities and working with teams to facilitate transformational change.

She has an MBA from Keele University, A Business Degree and is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. She has been a school governor and Chair of Governors for Walton Priory Middle School.

Amelia Bright

Trustee

Amelia has overall responsibility for the management of Grosvenor’s London portfolio which is located in Mayfair and Belgravia.

With a goal of making Mayfair and Belgravia recognised as some of the greenest, most vibrant and inclusive places in London, she is focussed on the careful balance of community environmental and commercial success.

She joined Grosvenor Britain & Ireland in 2007 and has held various asset management, investment and development roles in both Grosvenor Britain & Ireland and Grosvenor Americas. Her experience has included the delivery of NEO Bankside in London, 288 Pacific in San Francisco and most recently the leadership of the Development and Placemaking teams for the London Estate.

Amelia is a Non-Executive Director of Realty, Grosvenor Group’s insurance company.

She holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University and a Masters in Real Estate Appraisal from Reading University and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Ros Kerslake

Trustee

Ros Kerslake was Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2016 to 2021, where she led a UK-wide team of 300 staff, responsible for the distribution of up to £400 million per annum. Her earlier roles include Chief Executive at The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, RegenCo Sandwell and Director-level roles at Railtrack, Booker PLC, and Gulf Oil, a UK subsidiary of Chevron Corporation.

Ros is currently Chair of Leeds Castle Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Fund, a member of the Community and Voluntary Services Honours Advisory Committee and a Board member of Sanctuary Group. Her previous non-executive roles include Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at U+I PLC, a regeneration-based property developer, Quintain Estates and Development PLC, Black Country Housing Association, and Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation. Ros is a qualified solicitor and holds an MBA. Ros was awarded an OBE in the 2015 and a CBE in 2020 for services to heritage and holds honorary degrees from Keele and Staffordshire Universities.

Simon Lakin

Trustee

Simon joined the Re-Form Heritage trustee board in 2021. His current role is Group Finance Director for the Theo Paphitis Retail Group comprising four high street retail chains, Ryman the Stationer, Robert Dyas, Boux Avenue and London Graphic Centre, headed by the entrepreneur and Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis.

He has over 30 years of retail finance and general management experience covering numerous areas including finance, logistics, property, IT, Ecommerce fulfilment and buying.

He has a local interest in Middleport and the pottery industry and heritage having lived in and around the “Potteries” all his life.