- About Us
- Meet the Team
- Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
Samuel Barton
Chair
Sam lives in south-east London and is a Partner in a financial communications consultancy. He has a wealth of experience advising major private investment firms, associations and start-ups on corporate reputation, crisis communications, media strategy and investor relations. He spent the first ten years of his career in journalism, and holds an MBA from Durham University.
Vikki Harding
Deputy Chair
Vikki is a Registered Nurse with 39 years of working in the NHS, charity sector and pharmaceutical industry. She has recently retired and has held senior & executive leadership roles including a CEO of a hospice. Vikki wants to ensure people with Alzheimer’s & Dementia and their family and carers get the support they need to make every moment matter is so important and she feels very privileged to work as a Trustee for this amazing charity.
Catherine Jones
Trustee
Catherine lives in south-west London and is a Finance professional with over 10 years’ experience across retail and technology & information. As a qualified Management accountant, Catherine’s career to date has exposed her to a broad range of commercial challenges including operational management, EBIT control, strategic investment decisions and governance. Alzheimer’s & Dementia support is a cause close to Catherine and her family and wishes to use her experience to support the charity in its future growth.
Chris Inwood
Trustee
Chris has lived in Kent for 48 years and was educated at Maidstone Grammar school for Boys before leaving the county for University. He moved to Gravesend in 2011 with his partner Geneviève. Chris is an Associate Member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has 22 years of experience in delivering Economic Development and Physical Regeneration programmes for Local Authorities across Kent. Chris’s family has experienced the challenges that Alzheimer’s and Dementia can bring and wishes to utilise his business development, strategic partnerships and funding skills to benefit the Board and charity.
Adedayo Ajakaiye
Trustee
Ade is a qualified accountant (FCCA) with 27 years work experience as a Finance professional. In the last 6 years he has held senior finance roles in the housing and charity sectors with vast experience of overseeing day to day finance operations and services, managing monthly reporting and annual audit processes as well as assisting with strategic initiatives. Ade and his family live in Shorne, Kent and have personal experience of a loved one affected by and living with dementia. Ade wants to bring his experience as a finance professional to benefit the board and charity.
Gareth Simpson
Trustee
Gareth's background is in Marketing and Advertising. After nearly 15 years working in various marketing roles at companies like P&G, Reckitts and Heinz he moved over to advertising and worked across a range of businesses before becoming the lead for all P&Gs laundry detergent advertising across 60 markets worldwide at the Leo Burnett agency He now acts as a Marketing Consultant for small charities and social enterprises, and in this capacity met the management and board of ADSS a few years ago . The cause is so important and the organisation so professional that he offered his services as a trustee when the opportunity arose.
Avril Hamilton
Trustee
Avril lives in Berkshire with her partner and two children and is the Global Head of Talent for Mars Petcare. She has a wealth of experience leading the organisational development, employee experience, talent, performance management and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies for manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial services organisations. She holds a diploma in Executive Team Coaching, an MSc in Human Resource Management and BA (hons) in Business Studies. Avril has personal experience of loved ones living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and is pleased to bring her people expertise to the Board and charity.
Shubham Sarvaiya
Trustee
Shubham is a strategy and operations professional with over 7 years of experience working with SaaS startups, consulting firms, and large enterprises across India, the United Kingdom, and Southeast Asia. His expertise lies in driving commercial growth, shaping GTM strategies, and defining a company's long-term strategy. Throughout his career, he led cross-functional teams to deliver strategic projects that generated a $5-100 million business impact for his companies. He holds a Bachelor's in Technology from NIT Raipur and a Master's in Business Administration from IIM Calcutta.
Laura Grigerova
Trustee
Laura has over 14 years of B2B and B2C experience as Head of Marketing in AI-based digital and mental health technologies. She has held international roles in the US, UK, and Europe, spanning go-to-market strategies, product marketing and technology transformation. Laura’s interest in gut health and mental health and their impact on people’s well-being led her to work with Age UK Camden to improve the lives of people with dementia. Laura runs a gut health coach practice and e-commerce platform, Lauriger. She uses practical knowledge in naturopathic medicine and digital technologies to transform people's health and promote well-being.
Sharmila Whelan
Trustee
Sharmila is a macro investment strategist with 30 years’ experience advising institutional investors and companies on risk management, investments strategies and business development. She has lived and worked in India, across Asia, Africa, had the privilege of advising governments and working across cultures with senior leadership. Prior to founding Westbourne Research, she worked in the City of London, BP Plc, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Lyonnaise Securities Ltd. Having volunteered with charities across the world and experienced the challenges of dementia and Alzheimer's first hand, Sharmila is keen to leverage her business development and finance and strategy expertise to benefit the Board and support the growth of the charity.
