Steve Magnall ( Chairman of Board of Trustees)
Steve started in manufacturing at Hillsdown Holdings after graduating from Leeds University in 1985. He has spent time doing general management in private and public limited companies which include Heinz, Northern Foods, Grampian and John Rannochs. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration from Reading University. For the last 8 years he has been a Director with Greene King and currently is Deputy Managing Director with a diverse responsibility which covers brewing, operations, customer sales, telemarketing, PR and distribution of brands.
Steve is married with four children aged between 17 and 3 and when not spending time with them, or away in his motor home at festivals, he is likely to be found on the golf course.
Lisa Climie was a co-founder of Focus
12 in 1997. In 1999 she moved into strategic work in Drug Action Teams in both London and Suffolk in roles ranging from DAAT Co-ordinator to Commissioner and Project Manager. She currently works for Local Government in Adult Services as a Commissioner. She brings expertise and experience of many years working in the substance misuse field as well as broader knowledge of the world of commissioning and tendering.
Now back at Focus12 as a Trustee she still holds a firm commitment to Focus12’s original pledge to never turning anyone away who wants help and to ensure all clients receive respectful treatment.
Peter Cowley has been involved as a charitable trustee for over a decade – being involved with Citizens Advice service since 1998 with various roles as chair and treasurer of bureaux and chair of the Eastern Regional Committee. Peter is also a director of a Cambridge University graduate society, an independent school and a Contract Bridge centre.
Commercially, he has a technology background and owns companies in electronics and construction. Peter has several angel investments in technology companies. In his spare time, Peter plays bridge and squash and enjoys fell-walking, skiing and travelling.
Kate Flannery joined the Board of Focus12 in Spring 2010. She has worked in PR and marketing for the last 15 years in a variety of different sectors, from visual arts to technology consultancy, both in-house and as a
consultant. She originally trained as a frame restorer and gilder in the West End, before moving on to set up and run a successful contemporary art gallery. As the visual arts officer in an Arts for Health project at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings for six years, Kate discovered at first hand the therapeutic power of the arts in the healing process.
Her experience of being a client at Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau gave her a huge admiration for the work of the organisation and she spent eight years on their Board of Trustees, initiating a marketing and fundraising strategy and organising various high profile events. Last year, Kate took on paid work at the CAB through a Lottery-funded venture, Advicehub, which is increasing people’s access to good quality, free advice all across Cambridgeshire.
Kate is also a Board member at NIE Theatre, an international company that brings together theatre artists from different backgrounds, traditions and training to create original performances. She is a member of the Institute of Fundraising.
Kate has the greatest admiration for the work of Focus12 and the way in which all clients are treated with respect and warmth.
Richard Fitzsimons was a client at Focus
12 over 7 years ago. He was originally asked to be involved because of his Chairmanship of the Focus
12 User Group. He brings not only a commitment to the purposes and aims of the charity, but also a unique understanding of the way in which the charity's programme is delivered. He is Treasurer of the charity and has weekly finance meetings with the Chief Executive.
Andrew (Andy) Yacoub
Born in Austria to Iraqi/Austrian parents, Andy arrived in the UK aged 10. Andy later spent 18 years with the Metropolitan Police Service as a police officer, although the last 8 years revolved around the work of the Met’s Positive Action Team. Andy co-founded and led the work and development of this Team that was responsible for radically changing the Met’s recruitment, selection, welfare and retention policies and practices. The cultural and reputational outcomes of this programme were formally recognised by the British Diversity Awards, the then Home Secretary and a Metropolitan Police Service Commendation.
Andy joined Suffolk County Council as their Diversity Manager in April 2001. He had the corporate responsibility for all aspects of diversity, equality and inclusion. This is an extremely wide subject and positive change was only ever achieved through the networks that Andy built from across Council and collaboration with the public, voluntary, private and community sectors.
Andy has more recently led on strategic and service planning from a corporate centre. He has also led a major departmental change programme that required and achieved a 30% reduction in its operating budget. He has managed a large team and its related budgetary requirements. This Team’s roles were very diverse; from external funding and project management, to environmental management and sustainable travel, business and voluntary sector development, policy and strategy, through to social care commissioning and planning obligation (housing development negotiation).
Andy has also been Cambridge City Council’s Equalities Panel Independent Chair and successfully led a health and social care shared services project in a governance role. He has also been a lead member of the East of England Equalities and Diversity Network and is the founder of Suffolk’s longstanding and cross-sector Joint Diversity Working Group.
Andy spent six months shadowing an MP as part of a national scheme sponsored by the Electoral Commission and run by Operation Black Vote (OBV). He has also benefitted from participation in 2 significant leadership development courses, one run by Common Purpose using the theme “leading outside authority” and the other based on the principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming. Andy is also a leading member of the East of England Crown Prosecution Service Community Involvement Panel.
Andy’s other interests are fundraising for national and local charities, enjoying art, theatre, sport and travel, and being a mentor/coach.
Oonah Lacey
Oonah is an experienced Public Relations, Marketing and Communications professional with an extensive proven corporate record of accomplishment of working in the public sector for both a local authority and housing association. She also has experience of business management, strategic management, fund-raising, and new business development gained through working in the private, public and charitable sector at Senior Management Team level across a broad spectrum of disciplines.
She started a new role on 5 July 2010 as Head of Consultancy for TPAS a charitable organisation offering advice and support to Tenants and Landlords, a key stakeholder to the Regulator and the Government. She will be working from home and managing a team of Associate Consultants working in the South of England. This commercial role will allow her to expand her range of experience.
Qualifications - Masters in Housing and Urban Studies, University East Anglia, Chelmsford, 2002 - Post Graduate Diploma in Housing and Urban Studies, University of East Anglia, Chelmsford 1999 - Post Graduate Diploma Management Studies (DMS) University East Anglia Cambridge 1995 - Post Graduate Certificate in Business Management Studies, University East Anglia, Cambridge 1994 - Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), Suffolk College, Ipswich 1991 - BETC in Finance and Business Administration. West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds 1990