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Graham Bell

Non-Executive Director. Board and Committee Chair. Risk and Assurance Professional. Consultant

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 an experienced non-executive, currently sitting on the boards of several organisations, each of which has a clear social purpose. I also chair the audit and governance committee for a statutory planning body, grant-funded by government and which represents local authorities across the North of England.

I have a strong risk and assurance background, having worked as a consultant and in senior roles at National Grid and Standard Life, across a 35-year career. I am an expert author for award-winning publishers Kogan Page, I sit on the Leadership Council of the Global Risk Forum and have served on risk committees at the British Standards Institution (BSI).

I also have a record of successful commercial project delivery in areas including process redesign, standards implementation and organisational change. I was functional lead for one of the largest demergers in UK commercial history, and project director for a UK-wide safety critical systems upgrade.

I now help boards to find new and better ways to manage risk, improve governance, foster transparency, and maximise their organisation's growth potential.

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Non-executive board Experience

Current

Board Member (Alpha Living)

Alpha Living was established over 50 years ago and is a specialist provider of affordable homes to rent, offering sheltered and extra care accommodation across several local authority areas in the North of England. The Board is chaired by Steven Eaves.
  • Appointed to apply my multi-sector experience, insight into lived experience and customer voice, governance skills and understanding of risk.
Current

Non-Executive Director (CFE Research)

CFE Research is an independent research company founded in 1997, providing 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.

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.
20202026

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. Until late 2025, the Board was 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.

executive experience

2018current

Director

AJC Bell Consulting - Board/NED advisory, specialising in risk management
  • Implementation of new licence conditions, reporting to the subsidiary board;
  • Established new corporate learning programmes for the Institute of Leadership, and a unique degree-level qualification course regulated by Ofqual;
  • Clients have included BBC, Virgin Group and UK Armed Forces.
20202024

Risk Strategy Consultant

Phoenix Group (Standard Life)- a FTSE 100 financial services company, and the UK's largest savings and retirement business
  • Appointed due to my consultancy experience and expert knowledge of emerging risks and risk culture;
  • Providing independent opinions to the Board on the Annual Operating Plan;
  • Oversight lead and author of the Group's risk strategy, which incorporated alignment and integration of a single £248m acquisition in 2022.
20022018

Senior Leadership and Specialist roles

National Grid - a leading utility and energy company, owning and operating critical infrastructure 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 c£13bn);
  • Responsible for delivering a 150% increase in productivity in assurance reporting activity within 24 months.

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

Martin Tugwell - Chief Executive at Transport for the North (TfN), and a former President of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (CIHT). Martin is also a Governor at the Buckinghamshire College Group.

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 Chief Risk Officer 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.