Trustees
Alexia Hargrave
Alexia Hargrave regularly directs and consults on international events at the highest level, including The Elders initiative with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Carter and Kofi Annan. Alongside her diverse portfolio of not-for-profit clients, which include the Nduna Foundation and The Zeitz Foundation, she continues to work closely with the Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson.
Alexia & Suns is a high-level events, special projects and personal consultancy company founded in 2009 which has a wealth of experience in working with philanthropists, NGOs, high profile individuals and corporate organisations.
Aaron Simpson
“We believe in the principle that helping children find the hope they need to succeed in life is a gift that we have taken for granted everyday. We are determined to help build confidence in the children to achieve their goals and ambitions, and most importantly to believe that they can do so.’
Aaron Simpson is a co-founder of the Quintessentially Group and with his entrepreneurial background, he has been at helm of Quintessentially’s becoming the ‘Virgin Group of luxury’. Aaron is an instrumental figure for the Quintessentially Foundation is passionate about driving the charity to realise its goals and ambitions.
Ben Elliot
Ben Elliot co-founded Quintessentially in 2000. Ben graduated with a Bsc in Politics and Economics from the University of Bristol. In a decade, Quintessentially has gone from a small London based concierge company to the leading international luxury lifestyle group, operating in 60 cities globally and has 32 luxury sister businesses.
Ben is the Chairman of the Quintessentially Foundation (www.quintessentiallyfoundation.org) and has been a pioneering force behind Quintessentially Soho at The House of St Barnabas. Ben is also a non executive director of YouGov Plc, as well as being a regular contributor to the FT/New York Times and other publications. Most recently Ben has taken on a new role of executive producer for the BIFA nominated feature documentary “Fire in Babylon”, coming out in cinemas in May 2011
Ian Ewart
Ian, Director of Marketing and member of the Executive Committee with Coutts has over 25 years experience in financial services marketing.
He has extensive international experience and is well known for his commercially focused successes to date.
Ian has been responsible for a number of significant brands, amongst which feature those of Barclays and HSBC, where he was on the Executive Committee of the Private Bank.
Bob Emmett
Bob Emmett is the Managing Director of the Folio Collection LLC, a collection of private residence clubs whose offices are based in Williamsburg, USA. Bob has been involved in many charities over the years which include the William & Mary Law School Scholarships, The Burn Association, The Colgate University Scholarships and Save the Children as well as the Team for Kids NY Marathon team.
Peter Crowther
Peter is a partner at the international law firm, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP where he heads its EU and Competition practice, working out of their London and Brussells offices. His practice embraces contentious and non-contentious competition law, EU and national merger control, state aid, public procurement, trade a general EU law advice. Peter is also a former law lecturer and former holder of Jean Monnet Professorship in European Law.
Non Voting Advisors
Rory Brooks
Rory Brooks is co-founder of the international private equity group MML Capital Partners. Rory graduated from UMIST (now Manchester University) in 1975. He funded the UK’s first chair in Enterprise at Manchester University in 2001. In 2005 the Rory & Elizabeth Brooks Foundation became the principal benefactor of Manchester University’s Brooks World Poverty Institute currently chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz. The Foundation has donated more than £3 million to date. Rory is Chairman of Manchester University’s Global Leadership Board and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Manchester in October 2010. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
Alongside Professor Stiglitz, Rory made a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative for the Foundation to fund an initiative by the Brooks World Poverty Institute to establish an annual and continuing forum between leading researchers, practitioners and poor people to help better understand how to solve global and local poverty issues. The first such event, the Johannesburg Poverty Summit, was held in January 2011.
A 2008 article in the Independent listed Rory as one of the top 30 philanthropists in the UK.
Elizabeth Brooks is a Trustee for P3 (People Potential and Possibilities), a national award winning charity dealing with social exclusion and homelessness throughout the UK. Elizabeth is also a member of the Tate Patrons Committee. Rory & Elizabeth also make minor contributions to a range of other charities including the Whitley Fund for Nature. Rory and Elizabeth live in west London and have two teenage children.
Paul Drummond
An Oxford University law graduate, Paul qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and worked for Norton Rose from 1997 to 2000, specialising in private company and commercial law. In the initial years of Quintessentially, Paul was responsible for implementing Quintessentially’s critical operational systems. He then moved to Dubai for three years where, as Head of Quintessentially’s Middle East and North Africa operations, he facilitated expansion into key destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco. He continues to oversee the region while also being responsible for all significant commercial matters relating to the Quintessentially Group. Paul is especially keen on staff participation in supporting the charities and will be helping this aspect of the Quintessentially Foundation in particular.
Advisors
The Quintessentially Foundation encourages professional assistance from individuals and companies to lend a hand to the Foundation through pro-bono capacity.
Auditing & Accounting - IVAN SOPHER & CO (www.ivansopher.co.uk)
Legal – DEWEY & LEBOEUF LLP (www.deweyleboeuf.com)
