The Rt.Hon the Lord Paul Boateng
Chairman
Lord Boateng was elected Chair of the English-Speaking Union in January 2015.
Rod Chamberlain
Honorary Treasurer
An alumnus of the ESU, Rod has served on the Board of Governors since 2009.
Derek Morgan OBE, DL, CCMI
Deputy Chairman
Derek has been a member of the English-Speaking Union for 11 years. Together with a team of highly committed colleagues he has grown the South Wales branch from 18 to 380 members.
Dr Tony Wood
Deputy Chairman
He is passionate about providing opportunities for young children to improve their self-confidence to speak, debate and challenge the views of others.
Prof. James Raven
Governor
James joined the ESU as a student, was twice an ESU exchange scholar and has served as a Branch Chairman, President, Member and as the Chairman of various Regional and National ESU Committees.
James Scruby
Governor
James is involved with the ESU’s charitable activities at branch and regional level as an organiser of the ESU-Churchill National Public Speaking Competition for Schools.
Ellen Punter
Governor
Ellen joined the ESU in 2016; now working part time, she decided to use some of her free time in a constructive way within her local community and its schools, working alongside like-minded people to promote a real appreciation of the power of the spoken word.
Barbara Firth
Governor
Barbara’s particular passion is to ensure that more able children and young people have the provision and opportunities to achieve their very best whatever their background or circumstances.
April Heard
Governor
Formerly a Police Detective Inspector, April joined the ESU Board of Governors in 2017 as a safeguarding specialist.
David Shaw
Governor
David was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to the retail industry and charitable work.
Anikka Weerasinghe
Governor
Anikka joined the ESU in 2015 and is a communications strategist with extensive experience in media relations, corporate communications and reputational management
Jonathan Sobczyk-Boddington
Governor
Jonny is equally passionate about enterprise and education, and is committed to improving the life chances of the young people he works with.
Alex Just
Governor
As an alumnus of the English-Speaking Union, Alex joined the Board of Governors to help steer the future direction of debating
Lady Susan Inkin
Governor
Susan is a Member of South Wales Region of the ESU, and has been part of the committee that has overseen its growth to become the second largest after London.
Andrew Hay
Governor
Andrew became a governor of the ESU on his appointment as Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee in 2015.