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Graham Bell

Risk, Assurance and Governance professional. Portfolio Non-Executive Director. Board and Committee Chair

ability to influence

Boards and Committees - Harmonising and focusing effort, improving assurance provision, promoting diversity and lived experience, prioritising impact and effectiveness.

Body of Knowledge - Making a lasting contribution to our understanding of risk, sharing that with others and bringing it to life in a variety of settings.

Delivery - A strong record of achieving targets and implementing industry-leading change projects for a range of clients and organisations.

applied skills

The ability and willingness to challenge conventional thinking, offer novel and sustainable solutions and deliver measurable value to Boards and Executive Management.

Insightful, creative and analytical with a strong desire to do the right thing and share learning.

Personal values

I was first introduced to this value set over 20 years ago, and it resonates with me as much today as it did then:

  • Passion and pride - consistently demonstrating how much success means to you and the organisation
  • High velocity - moving and learning with pace in order to deliver the best possible solutions
  • Special delivery - taking responsibility for ensuring that needs and expectations are always met
  • Real people - saying what you mean and meaning what you say - building relationships based on honesty, trust and respect
  • Radical outlook - encouraging an open, radical and innovative approach to new ideas and new technologies

board profile

I am a Portfolio Non-Executive, Board and Committee Chair, and Risk, Assurance and Governance Professional with experience across a variety of sectors, including financial services, transport, energy, education and not-for-profit.

I help boards remain centred on how organisations are directed, overseen and held accountable for achieving their purpose. In doing so, I help to identify and mitigate risk, prioritise outcomes and maximise the organisation's growth potential.

In an executive capacity, I have over 35 years' international experience in management, risk and assurance. This experience includes leadership roles with top FTSE companies and a track record of successful project delivery and work assignments in the US and Middle East. Most recently I held Risk Strategy roles for one of the UK's largest financial services companies. Here, I was the author of the Group's risk strategy, and led work on embedding new Consumer Duty rules. Previously, I was a Director at a Management Consulting firm specialising in resilience and risk management. I am currently studying for a finance qualification with the ICAEW.

Finally, I am the author of a risk management handbook, and a former Fellow of the ISRS at UCL. I am also an experienced educator and trainer, having designed and delivered institute-approved corporate learning programmes and degree-level Ofqual-regulated courses.

Non-executive and executive board Experience

Current

Non-Executive Director (CFE Research)

CFE Research, an independent research company founded in 1997, operating across education, workforce development and health sectors. CFE provides insights to policy makers within government and other organisations across the UK. The Board is chaired by Professor John Coyne.
  • Appointed to apply my multi-sector experience, leadership skills and deep understanding of risk and assurance;
  • Actively supporting management in exploring new growth opportunities and how the organisation might transition to an AI-led operating model.
Current

Chair, Board of Trustees (Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum (NNRF))

NNRF is a £1m+ charity and one of the largest refugee charities in the country. It provides advice and support to individuals and families who seek asylum or who live as refugees. The Forum's patron is Baroness Ruth Lister.
  • Appointed to lead the development of strategy and improve governance practices;
  • Driving an outcomes-based culture by developing strategies and alliances to maintain income, increase lived-experience participation and embed trauma-informed practice;
  • Establishing new arrangements for improved oversight of funding bids and operational decision-making and, by extension, greater transparency and board accountability;
  • Chair of the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee; Chair of the Operations Committee.

Current

Member, Board of Trustees and Chair, Risk & Audit Committee (Frank Field Education Trust (FFET))

FFET is a multi-academy trust operating in the North West of England and West Midlands, established by the late Lord Frank Field. Purpose-driven, the trust seeks to advance social justice through excellence in education and adopting a unique citizenship curriculum. The Board is chaired by Professor David Wooff.
  • Appointed due to my commitment to social justice, passion for learning, and risk management and assurance expertise;
  • Improving governance arrangements, introducing new reporting practices and revamping the programme of internal scrutiny.
Current

Independent Member and Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee (Transport for the North (TfN))

TfN is a statutory body established by Act of Parliament in 2018, and grant-funded by the Department for Transport. TfN represents the interests of 16 million people across the North of England, with a Board made up of leaders from local government and the private sector. The Board is chaired by Lord Patrick McLoughlin.
  • Appointed due to my audit, risk and governance experience;
  • Leading efforts to improve the committee's impact and effectiveness, including its handling of risk matters, during a period of significant and ongoing change;
  • Providing scrutiny of the Statement of Accounts on behalf of the board, thereby providing assurances that public finance accounting rules are being followed, that approaches to VFM are consistent with peer organisations and that reporting is accurate.
20212024

Risk Strategy roles (Phoenix Group)

Phoenix Group is a FTSE 100 Financial Services company and the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business, better known through its main brand, Standard Life.
  • Appointed due to my consultancy experience and expert knowledge of emerging risks and risk culture;
  • Responsible for providing independent opinions to the Board on strategic planning and on the management of strategic risks.

executive experience

2021

Portfolio career

Non-Executive Director, Board Chair, Committee Chair, Risk & Assurance Professional; studying for a finance and accounting qualification.
20202024

Risk Strategy Consultant

Phoenix Group - a FTSE 100 financial services company, and the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement businesses
  • Oversight lead and author of the Group's risk strategy, which incorporated alignment and integration of a single £248m acquisition in 2022.
  • Researching, recommending and implementing best practices on managing the Group's strategic risks and risk culture;
  • Ensuring characteristics of vulnerability were embedded in product and service design, and introducing new standards of protection under the FCA's Consumer Duty rules.
20182021

Director

AJC Bell Consulting - an independent consulting firm, specialising in risk management and organisational resilience
  • Successfully implemented industry-first regulatory obligations, reporting to the subsidiary board;
  • Established new corporate learning programmes for the Institute of Leadership, and the only degree-level qualification course on organisational resilience regulated by Ofqual;
  • Designed and delivered a bespoke programme for station commanders and other senior staff in UK Armed Forces.
20022018

Senior Leadership and Specialist roles

National Grid - a leading utility and energy company, operating in the UK and US
  • Assurance, risk and project management roles during a 15-year career, which culminated in a senior leadership, Group-level position;
  • Functional project lead for one of the largest corporate demergers in UK history (at £13bn);
  • Responsible for delivering a 150% increase in productivity in assurance reporting activity within 24 months;

  • Project director for a national safety-critical IT systems implementation.

Details of previous roles in project management and consultancy available upon request

Education

  • Finance & Accounting Qualification - ICAEW (ongoing)
  • International Certified Auditor Qualification - IRCA

MEMBERSHIPS, EXTRA-PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS

  • Non-Executive Directors Association - Member
  • Association of Chairs - Board Membership
  • Institute of Strategy, Resilience & Security (ISRS) at University College London (UCL) - Past Fellow
  • Corporate Governance Institute (CGI) - Past Member
  • British Standards Institution (BSI) - Past Committee Member

  • Author of a full-length risk management handbook, published by Kogan Page (2020)
  • Journal articles published by Emerald and the University of Manchester

professional referees

Clive Bairsto CBE - MD at Corona Blue Business Services, CEO and Chair of Street Works UK. Clive is a former Air Vice Marshal and Head of International Policy and Planning at the MoD. Clive has also been Global Head of Business Resilience at National Grid and was Director of Integration and Readiness at the London Olympics.

Nicholas Shanahan - Formerly CRO at Standard Life Financial of Canada and Risk Strategy Director at Phoenix Group. Nick is now a Director of Finance in the charity sector, having previously worked at the Bank of England.

Dr David Rubens - Executive Director at the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM). David is a recognised authority on the management of crisis events and serves on the UK’s National Preparedness Commission.