Our PatronS
Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon
Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte is the great-great-great-great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Jean-Christophe is a private equity manager who has worked in New York and Paris for Morgan Stanley and Advent International and who currently works for Blackstone Group in London.
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HRH
THE DUKE
OF GLOUCESTER
The Duke of Gloucester is The Queen’s cousin and a full-time working member of the Royal Family. His Royal Highness is a trained architect and carries out many official duties related to architecture, construction and conservation, in which he remains deeply interested.
Our Chair
Sir Brian Unwin
Author and former British Civil Servant
Sir Brian Unwin KCB was educated at Chesterfield School, New College, Oxford (of which he is an Honorary Fellow) and Yale. After serving in the Diplomatic Service from 1960 to 1968 he transferred to HM Treasury, where he was Under Secretary in charge of the budget from 1978-81 and Deputy Secretary responsible for international finance from 1983-85. In 1985 he was appointed Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Office and in 1987 Chairman of the Board of HM Customs and Excise.
In April 1993 he became the first British President of the European Investment Bank (EIB). He was also the first Chairman of the European Investment Fund and a Governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Sir Brian has published two historical books, including one on Napoleon’s captivity on St Helena, entitled Terrible Exile: The Last Days of Napoleon on St Helena, (2010), which was short-listed for the Fondation Napoléon History Prize in Paris. In 2017 he published his memoirs, entitled, With Respect, Minister: A View from inside Whitehall.
Board of Trustees
Michael
Binyon
PENELOPE, VISCOUNTESS COBHAM
Journalist and Foreign Correspondent
Tourism and Business Expert
Michael is an English journalist and eminent foreign correspondent, known for serving as The Times's Moscow Correspondent as well as reporting from Bonn, Washington and all over the Middle East.
His career began at the BBC Arabic Service and the Times Educational Supplement. He reported from Moscow in the 70s, and went on to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall and numerous conflicts in the Middle East.
Penny restored and ran for 20 years her Palladian home, Hagley Hall, ancestral dwelling of Lord Lyttelton, who was present with Napoleon on HMS Bellerophon on which the Emperor surrendered. She chaired VisitEngland, the national tourist board and has sat on numerous public boards including the V&A, Historic Royal Palaces and English Heritage and was a Special Adviser to the Culture Secretary. Penny has advised Citibank, EY and for the last 3 years has been Director General of The 5% Club, encouraging employers to recruit more apprentices.
REBECCA CAIRNS-WICKS
Conservation and Management expert
Rebecca lives on Saint Helana and has extensive experience of the island's wildlife ecology, conservation and environmental management developed over 24 years working at a senior management level within the non-governmental and government sectors. She is actively engaged in landscape-scale ecological and experimental restoration on her farm.
Dan
Cruickshank
Architectural Historian
and Presenter
Dan is an architectural historian and television presenter. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group, and on the Architectural Panel of the National Trust. His recent work includes the television programmes and accompanying books Around the World in 80 Treasures (2005) and Dan Cruickshank's Adventures in Architecture (2008). He lives in Spitalfields, London.
PETER HICKS
Napoleonic Expert and Musician
Peter is an historian of the Napoleonic period and International Affairs manager at the Fondation Napoléon, Paris. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Bath (UK) (2008-2018) and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution, Florida State University, USA. He also is professor at the Institut Catholic des Etudes Supérieures (ICES). As a musician, recent Napoleonic projects include the creation, organization and performance of a week-long Festival of Napoleonic and Georgian music on the island of St Helena, and the organisation and conducting of two concerts of famous and rare Napoleonic music,
Philip
Davies
Author, Historian
and Town Planner
A former Planning and Development Director of English Heritage, Philip has been at the forefront of managing change to many of Britain’s most important historic places. As a renowned international authority on British colonial history and architecture, he has advised on the conservation-led regeneration of many overseas buildings and places, including Calcutta, Antigua, Valparaiso and Rangoon, where he helped set up the Yangon Heritage Trust.
ONI OVIRI
Procurement expert and Councillor
Oni is the Director of Sasare Associates, a consultancy advising in procurement, supply chain and logistics. She was a Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidate in the 2019 General Elections and currently serves as a Conservative Party Councillor. Oni holds a role as a School Governor and is a Fellow at the Initiative for Free Trade Think Tank.
Alan
Forrest
Academic Historian
and Napoleonic Expert
Alan is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of York. He has published widely on the history of the Napoleonic Empire. He has served on scientific committees to plan the new museum and visitor centre on the Waterloo battlefield, opened for the Bicentenary in 2015, and to prepare a major exhibition on ‘Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène’ for the Musée de l’Armée in Paris in 2016.
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Kedell
Worboys
Representative of the
Government of St Helena
Kedell is the Representative of the Government of St Helena in the United Kingdom. She is the current Chair of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA). She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA).
BOARD ADVISORS
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Francis
Pike
Historian and economic
and geopolitical adviser
Francis has lived and worked for 20 years in Japan, China and India and has advised financial institutions as well as governments in Japan, Australia, India, China, Singapore, Bangladesh, Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
Director
Martyn weeds
Executive Director
Martyn became Director of the Trust in September 2022. A history and archaeology graduate, Martyn’s career has been spent in the non-profit sector, advising organisations on strategy, fundraising and grant-making. In addition to his work for the Trust, Martyn is Senior Development Manager at the British Institute at Ankara and Honorary Secretary of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA).