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Board of Trustees

The Guild became a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity in 2010, like other charities it is governed by a group of trustees who have the overall responsibility for everything the Guild does.

The Board has twelve trustees and must have a majority student representation. The four elected officers are trustees in addition to their roles as Student Representative Officers. There are four Student Trustees and four external  Trustees. The external trustees are independent professionals appointed for their skills, experience and knowledge. You can find out more about the current Board below.

The Board provides guidance and oversight and they have specific responsibility for the governance, financial and strategic management of the Guild.

The full Board meets at least four times per year and also has a number of subcommittees to provide additional scrutiny.

Make sure students are at the heart of everything we do

We are a registered charity with clear aims and objectives, and our activities must be for the benefit of students at the University of Liverpool. The Board of Trustees makes sure we achieve this, by approving and monitoring our strategic plan, and monitoring and evaluating the performance of our services and activities in line with our charitable objectives.

Safeguard our reputation and manage risk

The Board of Trustees do not get involved in the day-to-day business of the Guild but they have a duty to make sure we don’t break any of the laws or regulations we must follow as part of our work and act in line with our governing documents.

Make sure we remain financially solvent

The Board of Trustees manage all of our finances, approving all our expenditure and our annual budget. They look after the long-term stability of the Guild, making sure that we continue to have money available to provide services which benefit our students.

This means that they may occasionally take legal or commercial decisions which cannot be overruled by students.

The day-to-day operations of the Guild are delegated to the Chief Executive and the staff team.

Liverpool Guild of Students has twelve trustees who act collectively to make decisions and all have an equal responsibility to ensure the Guild is properly run. The four Student and four external trustees are volunteers and the four Sabbatical Trustees are your elected officers.

We have our four Sabbatical Trustees. They are elected by all students in a cross-campus election every year, they hold their posts for one year and cannot be elected more than twice. As Student Officers they lead the Guild and you can find out more about what they do here.

2022-23

Chair of the Board of Trustees

2022-23

2022-23

2022-23

We have four Student Trustees. They are appointed by the Governance & Appointments Committee and hold their positions for two years. They must be registered students at the University of Liverpool throughout their time as Student Trustees. The current Student Trustees are:

Trustee terms - 2019-2021, 2021-2023

Abhilash Kondraganti is a Ph.D. student in the ULMS at the University of Liverpool. His doctoral research investigates the impact of Prescriptive Analytics in Retail Industry. While Big Data and Business Intelligence tools have been at the forefront of Retail Industry in the 20th Century the industry never adopted the use of prescriptive analytics which could be a potential pivot for the industry moving forward into the digital realm.

His research interests center around the intersection of Business Analytics and Big Data. He takes a multipronged approach that encompasses the fields of digital transformation, analytics, big data, and market research.

Abhilash holds a master's degree in Business Analytics and Big Data from the University of Liverpool. He collaborates with academic staff, guild personnel, and students across the University to improve the student learning experience. He actively participated in the school scrutiny panel, and postgraduate student-staff liaison committees during 2018-19 academic year.

With over 4 years of work experience in ICT (Information Communication & Technology) market research, he has co-authored several research reports on the evolution of ICT in several major economies of the world. He was also instrumental in developing a contracts database for the firm which went on to become one of the most profitable for the company.

Abhilash is also a movie buff and a critic who significantly contributes to IMDB with his critical reviews and acclaims on a weekly basis. Do call him if you are looking for a player in badminton or cricket.

Trustee term - 2021-2023

I am delighted to be part of the Board of Trustees as a student trustee. I am a mature student currently studying a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I plan to go on to do a masters afterwards. Amongst the variety of job roles I have held over the last decade I would have to say that I am most passionate about my work in social care, where I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of unique individuals who require living support. This role has truly consolidated my natural desire to help all people live in harmony with one another through the practice of ensuring equal opportunities, challenging discrimination, building understanding, and fostering strong relationships based on trust. I have a deep interest in society’s understanding of the human psyche and behaviour and want to use this passion to bring greater depth to the understanding shared between individuals, ultimately with the goal of promoting collective empathy, compassion, and equality. These values extend into my life as a student - as a student trustee you can expect me to work with all my heart to ensure that the duties assigned to me are delivered in alignment with the high-quality performance expected of one taking on this role, to ensure the needs of the student are met.

TBC

We also have four externalTrustees. They are not current University of Liverpool students; they are appointed for the professional skills and experiences they bring to the Trustee Board and provide an element of stability and continuity. They are appointed to their positions for four years and may be appointed to one further term of four years. The current external Trustees are:

Trustee terms - 2015-2019, 2019-2023

Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees

University Secretary (Governance and Assurance Office) at the University Of York’

Adam is a specialist in HE corporate governance policy and practice, risk and assurance. Adam has worked in the HE sector since graduating from his first degree in 1997 in a range of management roles incluyding at the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Royal College of Art, University of London International Programmes and Queen Mary, University of London.

Adam holds a First Class Honours Degree from the University of Reading, a Master of Arts (Distinction) from the University of London, a PgCert in HE Management and obtained a Doctor in Education (EdD) in HE corporate governance from University College London’s Institute of Education in 2015. Adam is a part-qualified company secretary and is working towards securing chartered status.

Adam has published articles on educational policy and university governance in a range of media, including the Journal of Applied Higher Education Management, ICSA’s Governance and Compliance Magazine and as a contributory author to the HE Specific Training Package on the Prevent Duty, developed in collaboration between HEFCE and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

Trustee term - 2021-2025

Rishi is Liverpool Football Club’s Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, and is responsible for managing equality, diversity and inclusion internally and externally across the organisation; aiming to ensure that the club leads the way on and off the pitch.

He graduated from Liverpool John Moores University, with an Honours Degree in History and Sociology in 2010. Having worked in ED+I for over 15 years, he has an expert understanding of successfully integrating equality, diversity and inclusion into businesses and ensuring positive change. Rishi is responsible for the Liverpool FC’s Red Together activity that encompasses the clubs plans across all areas of business operations and ensuring that this is embedded throughout. Rishi is a driving force for change and successfully works with colleagues and business leaders to ensure progress.

In 2020, Rishi was named on the Global Diversity List as a Top 20 Diversity Professional. His previous work led to wide-ranging recognition at the European Diversity Awards 2019, North West Football Awards 2019 and Inclusive Companies Awards 2019 – in addition to being awarded the Premier League Equality Standard Advanced Level in the same year.

Prior to joining Liverpool Football Club, Rishi has held roles at Manchester United, Kick It Out and The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board, where he has worked throughout his career to champion equality, diversity and inclusion and the power of football to make a positive impact across society.

Trustee term - 2022 - 2026

Gabriella is the Chief Operating Officer of Kings College London Student Union in London and has been serving as the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of YGAM since 2017, a multi award winning charity, that develops and deploys gaming and gambling harm prevention programmes for young people under the age of 25.

Prior to venturing into the public sector, Gabriella spent 25 years in operational and divisional finance director positions in the music industry; her roles included the VP Finance of the Artist Services division at Universal Music Group, where she was project managing the integration of a £110m asset after a major acquisition. Her remit also included the business development and management of mostly UK and US based companies managing well known performing artists. Prior to that Gabriella took a leading role in a change management program that aimed to improve the profitability of the recording division of Sanctuary Music Group (an AIM listed company). She also served 10 years at EMI International in senior roles sauch as The Finance Director of the European Commercial Operation division and the finance director of two European EMI subsidies.

Gabriella is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA) and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) from Cass (Bayes) University, London. Prior to moving to London in 1996, she completed her MS Finance degree in the Corvinus University Budapest, as well as, a BBA degree from the Budapest Business School.

As a formal national rowing champion, Gabriella has been a keen athlete and spends most of her free time with hiking and skiing.

Trustee term - 2021-2025

Rachel Gnagniko is a French-Togolese Senior Consultancy Lead at Inc Arts UK, the UK-wide collective that champions the creative, contractual and economic rights of the UK's African, Asian, Caribbean and ethnically diverse arts sector workforce.

Rachel works to make inclusive change in the arts and cultural sector. She conducts focus groups, policy writing, and workshops for arts organisations engaged in enhancing their creative case for diversity. In 2019, she presented her research work at the 7th Biennial Conference Network Afroeuropeans on the impact of Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum as well as literature and film based racial narratives on the advancement of more inclusive European societies.

Rachel studied labour and organisational sciences at the Conservatoire National Des Arts Et Métiers, has a Master’s in communication strategy from the European Communication School, and specialised in diversity management practices at the Chartered Management Institute. She is currently working with other equality leaders to develop more creative approaches to valuing people through diversity.

Trustee term - 2023-2027 (currently in an induction/handover period as an Observer)

Alan’s professional background is in finance, and he has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) since 1977. He has spent his entire career in the public services, beginning with 16 years in a variety of finance roles in Local Authorities, before moving to the NHS in 1988.

He retired from the position of Chief Executive at an NHS Foundation Trust in Essex in 2013. His key skills and interests are in financial management, corporate governance, business strategy, board development and regulatory compliance

Alan has 23 years’ experience at Board level in NHS acute hospitals, 13 as Finance Director and 10 as CEO, and includes in his achievements, successful leadership of the application to become a first wave NHS Foundation Trust in 2004 and overseeing the delivery of statutory financial duties for 23 consecutive years. Alan has led on all aspects of NHS service developments including the establishment of the £60 million regional Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in 2007.

Alan has family roots in Liverpool and moved to Merseyside from Essex in 2015. He was appointed as Lay Member (Audit and Governance) for Wirral CCG in June 2015 and served for 7 years until the closedown of the organisation in June 2022. One of his 4 sons studied at Liverpool University, and 3 have worked within the NHS since leaving full-time education. Alan has maintained close links with Liverpool throughout his life, his father was born and raised on Merseyside. As a lifelong supporter of Liverpool FC, Alan enjoys watching the reds at every home game at Anfield.

Whilst the Trustees have to take a number of decisions that may not seem directly relevant to your student experience, it is vital that they understand the views of the members of the Students' Union.

As members of the Students' Union, you can influence the Trustees in a number of ways:

Contacting the Students' Union Officers

The Students' Union Officers are your elected representatives but they all act as trustees. Whilst they are obliged to think about the overall organisation when taking decisions as trustees, they still take into account the wishes of the student population.

Using Change It

All students can submit ideas to Change It which may simply be adopted if it is a straightforward matter or may be referred to Guild Summit for discussion.

If you have reason to call for a trustee to be dismissed, there is a set procedure that you may follow. Before following the procedure, you may wish to contact the Trustee Board Chair as many problems can be resolved informally.

Members can remove a Sabbatical Officer, Student Trustee or external Trustee by calling an all student vote (referendum).

A referendum can be called by a petition on the Guild website agreed to by at least 3% of the Members of the Guild.

The trustee will be removed if there is a two-thirds majority in favour of removal and at least 3% of the Members of the Guild vote in favour of removal.

Details on how to submit a petition and referenda can be found here.