John Hitchins (Chairman)

John is a Chartered Accountant and spent most of his career working for PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor and advisor in the banking and financial services sector. He is now a non-executive director of two financial services companies and is a part time consultant to the Corporate Reporting Regulator within the Financial Reporting Council. He chairs the Marsh Academy, a secondary school in Kent, whose principal sponsor is the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest City Livery Companies. John is a Member of the Court of the Skinners Company and served as Master in 2014/5.  He is also a Trustee of the Centre for the Study of Financial Information, a City based think tank. 

Nicola De Pulford

Nicola is a traditional farmer with a deep love of the countryside, conservation, heritage and supplying food locally.

Due to illness in the family she started to run the family farm in Wiltshire at the age of seventeen, soon to be joined by her youngest sister. In 1989 they moved to two separate farms in Devon.

She is a photographer and has written five books including the best-selling ‘Book of Spells’ For the last 21 years she has published the Farmers Calendar and raised over £100,000.00 for charities, including Help for Heroes, St Catherine’s School in Ventnor,  Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline and Farms for City Children.

Her daughter Verity was born with a balanced genetic translocation unique in the world! She has hands on experience and the ability to support and campaign for people to reach their full potential.

In 2017 Nicola was surprised and delighted to be invited to the Women of the Year awards in London. She continues to farm near Totnes.

David Kemp Gee

David is a Chartered Accountant, who originally graduated in Civil Engineering from St. Andrews in 1964. After completing a post graduate course in Business Administration, he became a member of the Society of Investment Analysts, working for stockbrokers and ITT, the largest American conglomerate of that era. He came down to Devon in 1973, becoming finance director of various companies. In 1980, he started in his own practice, operating out of Ashburton and Totnes. He helped to found the South Devon Steiner School, which enabled him to become close to the founders of Camphill Devon Community. Now semi-retired, he can pursue his love of tennis, bridge and gardening.

Fiona McPhail

Fiona is Director of MWA Ltd, a consultancy providing Human Resources and Equality Diversity and Inclusion consultancy and professional learning and development provision. Fiona works with organisations across the UK to review and refresh strategy, policies and procedures and to provide implementation support and delivery.  Former roles include as an International HR Director, working in a pan European role and as Divisional Head of HR at Leicester University a remit spanning HR, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Staff Wellbeing and Professional Learning and Development. She holds a BA (Hons) from Lancaster University, and an MA from Warwick University.  Her CIPD was gained at De Montfort University and she is a Fellow of the CIPD and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.

Diana White

Diana is now semi-retired. She originally trained as a teacher of English and Art. She became interested in Steiner Education and moved to Devon for her children to attend the South Devon School where she became Finance Manager for several years. In 1992 she started working for Robert Owen Communities, in her career in Health and Social Care, working with people with a learning disability. She has run craft workshops before moving to work in the residential care where she became a Registered Manager. She then managed supported living services. She has been a member of the Anthroposophical Society of Great Britain for many years and is active in the local Biodynamic Group. She still works part time supporting people whose services she helped to set up.

Kevin Gilbraith

 

Following a career in the rail manufacturing sector, Kevin spent the last 10 years of working life as a Manufacturing Quality Manager for Siemens Mobility, overseeing supplier selection and management. Having moved in retirement to Totnes, we are now enjoying South Hams life as fully as possible!