First female CEO for RoSPA, & more sector movers
Melanie May | 2 April 2024 | News
Rebecca Hickman takes up the CEO role at RoSPA, while elsewhere, Claire Rowney will take up the same role at Breast Cancer Now in September. More on these and other sector movers below.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents appoints new CEO
Birmingham-based The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has appointed a new CEO in its bid to drive a new era of growth and impact. Rebecca Hickman, who will be RoSPA’s first female Chief Executive in its 100 year plus history, will start the role on the 1 April this year. Her appointment comes following the stepping down of previous CEO, Errol Taylor back in October 2023.
Advertisement
Hickman, who has climbed RoSPA’s ranks over the last twenty years, will lead the organisation in the next phase of its journey to becoming a truly member-centric, impact driven charity. With over two decades of dedicated service, her journey to CEO has been defined by key transformation initiatives. The charity says that under her tenure RoSPA’s sales and marketing functions were rebuilt and the strategic partnerships division was born.
Claire Rowney announced as new Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Now
Breast Cancer Now has announced that Claire Rowney will join the charity as its new Chief Executive. Rowney, who is currently Executive Director of Fundraising, Marketing, Strategy and Innovation at Macmillan Cancer Support, will join the charity on Monday 2 September.
She takes over from the charity’s current Chief Executive, Baroness Delyth Morgan, who steps down to retire on Friday 28 June, having delivered 30 years of leadership in the charity sector, 23 years of which have been dedicated to breast cancer. Rowney’s career spans 15 years of charity sector leadership, and in 2023 she was voted one of Campaign Magazine’s ‘Power 100’. Her career includes 13 years at Cancer Research UK and she was also Chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising for a year from 2020. For the two months between Morgan departing and Rowney joining the charity, Rachael Franklin, Director of Fundraising, Communications and Engagement at Breast Cancer Now will act as interim Chief Executive.
The British Asian Trust appoints Geetha Rabindrakumar as Chief Operating Officer
The British Asian Trust has appointed Geetha Rabindrakumar to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Rabindrakumar has held senior roles at Big Society Capital, where she spearheaded the promotion of finance initiatives across the UK and has been the Director of Finance at disability charity Scope. Most recently she has been Director of Impact, Partnerships and Communities at national charity The Reader and has held roles at Cardboard Citizens and Plan International. She was also until last year a trustee at homelessness charity Crisis.
Rabindrakumar is not totally new to the British Asian Trust, having offered her expertise previously as a member of the Trust’s Social Finance Committee. In her new role as COO, she will have oversight of finance, people, operations, IT and cybersecurity, risk and compliance – both in the UK and across the Trust’s teams in South Asia. Rabindrakumar will also support the board at the British Asian Trust, chaired by Lord Jitesh Gadhia.
Vagina Museum Founder Florence Schechter to step down from Director role
Florence Schechter, founder of the Vagina Museum, will be stepping down from the staff role of Director in May 2024. Schechter founded the Vagina Museum in 2017. It started with a tweet from Schechter’s account, saying “People, there is a penis museum in Iceland but no vagina museum anywhere in the world. Who wants to start one with me?” By the end of that year, the Vagina Museum was established as a series of pop-up events. Under Schechter’s leadership, the Vagina Museum opened in its first fixed premises in Camden Market in 2019, with the exhibition Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How to Fight Them.
Schechter’s departure is accompanied by a fundraising campaign to ease the transition period and celebrate Schechter’s achievements, titled “Thank you for your cervix, Florence”. The campaign aims to raise £4,900 – £700 for each of the seven years of Schechter’s term as Director. Zoe Williams, the Museum’s Head of Communications and Fundraising will act as Interim Director for a six-month period.
NCT Chair of Trustees Stephanie Maurel to step down three years in role
NCT’s Chair of Trustees Stephanie Maurel will be stepping down later this year after three years in the role. Prior to becoming Chair of the charity in August 2021, Maurel spent four years as a member of the Board of Trustees. During her time on the Board, she has played an important role in leading the charity through the pandemic, stewarding the creation of NCT’s ambitious new five-year strategy, For Every Parent, and facilitating an open and inclusive governance culture.
Maurel, who is Chief Executive of the Corporation of Church House, is nearing the end of her three-year ministerial training, and is set to be ordained as a priest of the Church of England in summer 2025. She will remain as NCT Chair until a successor is appointed, with a formal handover expected to take place at the charity’s AGM later this year.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.