Board of Trustees
Our Board members are unpaid volunteers. Aquaterra is registered
as a charity and they act as its Trustees; it is also registered as
a non-profit company of which they are the directors. The
Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of
Aquaterra and for ensuring that it fulfils its charitable objects,
and for appointing the CEO. The Trustees come from a variety of
backgrounds in the non-profit and private sectors.
 |
Simon Kaplinsky, Chair
Simon qualified as an engineer in South Africa, coming to the UK
in 1965. After 5 years his interest in social issues led him to
take a post as a Community Worker. Thereafter he switched to
housing, initially as an Area Manager for Circle 33 HA and later as
Director of Development at Notting Hill Housing Trust. For 10 years
prior to retirement he was a Director of PRP Architects. He is on
the Boards of Stadium HA and Solon Community Network and has
actively participated in community organisations and politics.
|
 |
Steve Barrett
Steve Barrett is a former national competitor in athletics, rugby,
mountain biking and sport aerobics. His career in the fitness
industry as a Personal Trainer spans over 20 years. His work as a
lecturer and presenter has taken him to 32 countries. His academic
foundation includes Physical Education and Recreation Studies and
he also holds a number of teaching qualifications. For many years
Steve delivered Reebok International's fitness strategy and
implementation. He now acts as a New Product Development and
Training consultant to major companies in the fitness industry.
|
 |
Richard Best
Richard is the Chief Executive of Breathingspace, a business
consultancy involved in "professional sport" and "outdoor
activities". A keen sportsman, he served for 6 years in the British
Army, followed by a career in Unilever. Having set up, developed
and sold a number of sport and outdoor activity businesses, Richard
is familiar with the commercial challenges and opportunities facing
the industry. He is a regular user of Bath Sports and Leisure
Centre and is interested in how sport, fitness and well being are a
powerful force in engaging communities.
|
 |
Howard Moss
Howard Moss is a partner in Kingswood, a boutique corporate
finance and accountancy firm. He graduated with a commerce degree
and then joined Touche Ross where he qualified as a Chartered
Accountant in 1980. The following years have been spent advising
predominantly owner-managed businesses plus being responsible for
their accounting and tax compliance requirements. In 1993 he
co-founded Kingswood. Howard is actively involved in the local
business community and is a former President of the Islington
Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he writes and lectures on
business development and tax.
|
 |
Dave Sherlock-Jones
Dave Sherlock-Jones is a regular user of Highbury Pool and Fitness
Centre and Sobell Leisure Centre and is particularly interested in
the relationship between Aquaterra and the communities in which it
is based. His career has been in the management of student unions
and he is now CEO of Middlesex University Students' Union.
|
|
Neil Best
Neil is a principal consultant for Renaisi Ltd, which operated
the EC1 New Deal for Communities programme. He lives in Waltham
Forest but he has a profound knowledge of Islington, and especially
the south of the Borough. He worked with Aquaterra on the concept
of operations for the redevelopment of Ironmonger Row and has a
strong commitment to creating equality of access to leisure
facilities.
Neil has worked with volunteers, was an elite athlete and coach
in his youth and studied Sport Sociology at the University of
Liverpool.
|
|
Sandra Gruescu
Sandra is an academic economist and researcher with a particular
interest in population and demography, and has produced influential
work in Germany and the UK. She currently works for the think-tank
Westminster ResPublica. Sandra is an Islington resident and has
lived in the UK for the last ten years; she has used Sobell,
Archway and Highbury with her children. She has a strong interest
in childhood obesity and its impact in later life and is interested
in the health benefits of fitness and exercise.
|
|
Nicola Mathiason
Nicola lives in the centre of Bath and is a regular user of Bath
Sports and Leisure Centre. Nicola is a lawyer by training and
started off in the private sector; her interest in working for the
public arose from a period in planning law in private practice
after which she moved into public service, with which she feels a
strong affinity.
Nicola is committed to making sports and fitness accessible to
all members of the community, and particularly older people in view
of the growing crisis of ill-health in old age.
|
|
Niyi Ajayi
Niyi has lived in Islington for many years. He is a customer of
Aquaterra as a football manager and a gym user; he is also the
founder and organiser of a football club that uses our pitches at
Market Road. He is a committed footballer and volunteer organiser
and has worked personally (and now professionally) with and for
alienated young people in Islington and Richmond. He founded the
football club he now runs to give aimless young people of his
acquaintance something to do.
Niyi worked in the fundraising department at Scope (formerly the
Spastics Society) for several years, and has skills in fundraising
particularly from the corporate sector.
|
Strategic Management Group
Aquaterra has changed its management to develop a more
streamlined and coherent approach across its business units. This
engenders greater links between the contracts in Islington and Bath
and North East Somerset and assists the movement of knowledge, best
practice and information sharing around the charity. Aquaterra's
new management is organised in constellations to encourage the free
flow of knowledge, experience and effort and to avoid working in
silos. Rather, we work together in talent groups instead of the
traditional hierarchy.
 |
Antony Kildare, Chief Executive
Antony is an experienced Chief Executive who joined Aquaterra
Leisure in January 2012, bringing with him a strong background in
innovative UK wide regeneration, project development and delivery.
Previous appointments include Chief Executive Officer of a large
economic development company, Industry Director for Government,
Public Sector and Not for Profit business at Ernst & Young LLP,
a period on secondment to DTi where he worked on the Cox Review,
Chief Executive of Renaissance and Executive Director of East
Midlands Development Agency. Antony is accountable to the Trustees
for the performance and delivery of Aquaterra Leisure
and leads the management team. Full
biography |
 |
Orla Bance, Director of Finance and
Resources
Orla is a CIMA qualified accountant. She is focussed on
ensuring that internal structures and systems allow for staff
growth and development and for this reason, business coaching,
training and mentoring are her priorities. She also controls the
budget and forecasting for Aquaterra, ensuring that expenditure is
in line with agreed parameters throughout the sites we manage.
Before starting with Aquaterra, her experience was predominantly in
the travel and tourism sectors.
|
 |
Jamie Brown, Director of Delivery
and Development
Jamie has 17 years' experience working in the leisure
industry. During that time he has worked for private, public and
not for profit organisations in a number of roles including Area
Sales and Retention Manager and more recently Contract Manager.
Jamie is responsible for developing the range of services and
activities Aquaterra offer and introducing new products and
services to ensure that we continually meet and exceed market
expectations.
|
 |
Andrew Powney, Director of Information
Systems
Andrew's 16 years experience in the leisure sector and private
industry enables him to deliver information solutions with a clear
understanding of the customer and the operating challenges faced by
frontline staff. He is a co-developer of the Connect and Prospector
systems and specialises in data warehousing, IT strategy and
information governance. He also holds the ISEB Certificate in Data
Protection and is Microsoft certified. Andrew introduced agile
development to Aquaterra. He leads on data analysis and business
planning.
|
