Trustees

The Dulwich Estate charity is governed by a Board of 14 trustees. Eleven of these are nominated by relevant bodies, including the beneficiary school governors, the Dulwich Almshouse Charity, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The other three trustees are appointed by the Board through a selection criteria which aims to ensure a broad mix of skills and representation.

The role of the trustees

The assets of the Estate are governed by the trustees on behalf of the beneficiaries.

Trustees can be contacted via the chief executive, Simone Crofton simone.crofton@thedulwichestate.org.uk

Dr Andreas Köttering, D Phil

Andreas works as head of infrastructure investment, Europe, at CBRE Caledon. His career spans the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, experience in banking and investment at Citigroup, Schroders, Siemens and KfW in London, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. Andreas and his family have been residents of Dulwich for more than 20 years. He was nominated by Dulwich College to serve as a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate, which he has done since 2012. He became Chairman of Trustees in January 2020.

Dr Irene Bishop, LLD, CBE

Irene taught in inner London state schools for 42 years and was Head of St Saviour's and St Olave's School for 19 years. She co-founded Southwark Schools Learning Partnership which breaks down barriers between the independent and state sectors. Irene was awarded a CBE in 2012 for services to education. She continues to work with schools and academies and is a Governor of two schools, including Dulwich College. She has been a Trustee, nominated by Dulwich College, since November 2016 and became Deputy Chairman in January 2020.

John Cruse, BSc (Hons)

John was a lecturer in trading standards and worked in local government for Tower Hamlets before retiring in 2009. John is a Governor at Central Foundation Girls School and was Chair for eight years. He is also a Trustee of the Central Foundation Schools of London. He has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2015, and was nominated by The Central Foundation Schools of London.

Rosemarie Jones, MRICS

Rosemarie Jones is Deputy Head of Real Estate to the Church Commissioners for England and is responsible for the asset management of the residential, commercial and rural portfolios across the UK.

The residential portfolio is focussed on the Hyde Park Estate, London W2 and Connaught Village and the
rural portfolio extends to around 100,000 acres across 45 estates. The commercial portfolio includes offices, shops, industrial estates and hotels. Rosemarie has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since April 2020.

Penny King

Penny is a partner in a central London law firm specialising in commercial real estate. She has over 25 years' experience and acts principally for corporates, developers and institutional clients, handling complex transactions with a real estate focus. Penny and her family have
been resident in Dulwich for almost 20 years. Having served as a parent-governor at JAGS, Penny was later appointed to sit as a governor at Comber Grove School, Camberwell. She has been a co-opted Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since January 2020.

Ben Kottler, BA (Law), CFA

Ben is a client manager at Marathon Asset Management, with responsibility for Canadian and US clients and for Environmental, Social and Governance issues. In a 30 year investment career, Ben has worked in London, New York and Boston. He has been a governor of two schools and volunteered for CFA UK, the representative body for UK investment professionals. Ben has been a co-optative Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2020.

Nicola Meredith, BA (Hons), FCCA

Nicola is an accountant, director of a property company and a former management consultant with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young specialising in strategy development and delivery for clients in the UK and abroad. She was previously a Governor of James Allen’s Girls’ School, Deputy Chair of its Board and Chair of its Community Enterprises Company. Nicola and her family have lived in Dulwich for over 30 years. She has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2010, nominated by JAGS and was Chairman of Trustees in 2018/19.

Richard Pinckard, BSc (Econ), FCA

Richard is a chartered accountant and has been a partner at KPMG since 1996, working with many of its major international clients across a wide range of industries. A former member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the UK’s financial reporting regulator, he is also a Governor of Alleyn’s School and has been a Trustee of the British Lung Foundation. He has lived in Dulwich for many years. Richard is a Governor of Alleyn's and has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2014, having been nominated by Alleyn's School.

Caroline Price, LIB (Hons), ACA

Caroline is a chartered accountant and non executive director or trustee of a number of arts and educational related businesses and charities. She is also a school governor. She was Chief Finance Officer of a FTSE 250 property and transport group for a decade. Caroline, and subsequently her family, has lived in Dulwich for over 30 years. She has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since April 2020 and was nominated by The Dulwich Almshouse Charity.

Sarah Slater, BSc (Hons), MRICS

Sarah is the Chief Executive of The Eyre Estate, and holds a number of non-executive positions. She has been on the Board of GRIP REIT Plc, the UK’s largest residential real estate investment trust, since 2016. Throughout her career, Sarah has been responsible for the delivery of major real estate programmes, ensuring implementation against objectives. She has been a co-optative Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2015.

Russell Vaizey, MA, FCA

Russell has been Chief Executive of the Worshipful Company of Dyers since 2005. His career spans working as a chartered structural and civil engineer. More recently he has been financial controller at Commercial Union Asset Management and finance director at Newton Investment Management. He is a Governor at Norwich School, Former Chairman at St Saviour’s School and current Estate representative to St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Schools Foundation. He has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2011, having been nominated by St Olave's & St Saviour's School Foundation.

Roger Westbrook, CMG, MA

Roger is a former Ambassador to Portugal. Roger was Chairman of Spencer House from 2000-2006 and Chief Honorary Steward at Westminster Abbey from 2000-2016. He is the nominee of the Archbishop of Canterbury. For many years he has been associated with Book Aid International – which provides books and promotes literacy around the world. Roger has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2015 and was nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Nick Wood, MA MEng

Nick has been managing retail businesses since 1997 in public and private equity ownership. He was CEO of Pets at Home from 2012 to 2016, successfully listing the company on the London Stock Exchange, and is currently Chairman of Paperchase. He has lived in Dulwich for many years. Nick is a Governor of James Allen’s Girls’ School and has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2019, having been nominated by James Allen’s Girls’ School.

Peter Yetzes, BA, JP

Peter is executive chairman for a group of recruitment companies based at London Bridge and also works as a magistrate, chairing in the youth and adult courts in Bromley and Bexley. He is a former director at the Audit Commission where he developed the National Fraud Initiative which to date has saved more than £1billion for the public purse. He is a Governor of Alleyn's School and has been a Trustee of The Dulwich Estate since 2017. He was nominated by the Governors of Alleyn's School.