Commonwealth Board

Martin Ford
Guardian Trustee

Martin is a retired management consultant with experience in a range of public and private sector settings, often across the boundaries between organisations where transformation of systems, effective engagement and deliberative processes enable and support improved outcomes. He has a background in leadership and change management in the NHS, designing, commissioning and contracting services for adults and children.

Martin has served in numerous Trustee board roles. He recently stepped down as Chair of the Turning Lives Around Housing Charity. He is a Trustee Director of the Retreat Hospital in York which provides a range of private and NHS mental health services for adults and children. He also serves as Chair of the General Assembly of the Quaker Council for European Affairs based in Brussels. This small Quaker charity works with other NGOs to deliver peaceful transformation through programmes focussed on Rethinking Security, Climate Crisis, Conscientious Objection, Refugee and Asylum processes.

In his spare time he sings Barbershop, gardens, and with his wife Helen, enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren. Having studied electronic engineering in his youth, he is naturally drawn to things technical and can sometimes spend far too much time trying to understand how it works!

Tim Jones
Company Member of the Commonwealth Board and Non-Executive Chair

Tim's career began in financial services with Royal Insurance and subsequently Tim held posts in the Middle East, the US and Europe before entering the water treatment and bottling sector which included running a UK business and the establishment of a joint venture in the Balkans.

But for nearly 25 years now, Tim has been involved, either as CEO or, since retirement, as Chair of Allia, a charitable organisation with various operating subsidiaries. Here, he has overseen the evolution of a range of new solutions to drive social entrepreneurship and innovations in social and third sector finance.

These days Tim is also a non-executive chair of FTSE listed Fevara plc – an international manufacturer of animal feed supplements and Oximio – a family-owned business operating in the clinical trials sector internationally.

Tim lives on the Cambridge side of Huntingdon with his wife Jane and one of his three daughters. Tim's son, two other daughters and two granddaughters are spread out between London and Cheshire.

Gillian Shapiro
Guardian Trustee

Gillian is a leadership and organisational development coach and consultant, with thirty years of expertise in complex change, diversity and inclusion. She founded Shapiro Consulting Ltd in 2003 with a mission to help build high-performing, relational organisations where people from all backgrounds feel a strong sense of belonging. She has worked with client organisations globally spanning sectors including finance, law, manufacturing, media, science, engineering and technology, NGO/third sector, local and central Government. She joined Scott Bader Commonwealth as an External Guardian Trustee in 2023.

Previously Gillian led pan-European action research programmes on innovation and engagement at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management. She has worked with the International Labour Organisation on one of the first large scale global diversity and inclusion studies involving low, medium as well as high income economies. Following a business degree, her doctorate research focused on the career development of women working in leadership in the technology sector. She has published and is a regular international speaker on her research work.

Gilly enjoys and is firmly committed to lifelong learning, personal and professional development. She is a member of the Institute for Applied Behavioural Science (NTL), the Human Systems Dynamics Institute and the Organisational Development Network Europe. She is a graduate and faculty member of the International Gestalt, Organisational Development and Leadership (iGOLD) programme.

Sonia Davies
Guardian Trustee

Sonia is a seasoned finance leader and Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in commercial finance, governance, and strategic planning within the tech and engineering sectors. Her career includes roles at PwC, IMI plc, and Nexperia, and she now works as a consultant, advising growth-focused businesses on developing and executing robust financial strategies.

 Sonia is also a Board Member at InnovateHer, an organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the tech industry. As a Non-Executive Director, she applies her expertise in ethical governance, risk management, and compliance to support transparent decision-making and sustainable growth.

Renowned for her collaborative approach and strong stakeholder relationships, Sonia is a passionate advocate for accountability and sustainable business practices.

Harry Manning
Bader Family Nominated External Guardian Trustee

Harry is a Medical Doctor, having graduated from the University of Southampton in 2021 completed a general 2-year post-graduate training programme in East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and holds a full licence to practice medicine with the General Medical Council.

He currently works on a locum basis within the same trust, supporting the Emergency Department, Medical and Surgical Team. His time outside the hospital is spent perusing Academic Interests in Urology, preparing for a professional move to Germany to work as a doctor and most recently holding the position of Guardian Trustee on the Scott Bader Commonwealth Board.

Harry is the Great-Grandson of Ernest Bader, the founder of Scott Bader, and spent his childhood with Godric Bader and his endless tales of this beloved company. He is excited to learn what makes the company tick and to help keep it accountable to the founding ethical principles as laid out by Ernest.

David Black
Internally Elected Director

David has been at Scott Bader UK for six years and is the Quality and IMS Manager, looking after our quality, environmental and health and safety management systems to maintain our ISO, Halal and customer certifications and approvals.

David trained as an engineer at British Steel before moving into quality and has been a Quality Manager for over 20 years working in the Aerospace, Defence and Automotive industries. Having spent three years as a member of the UK Community Council and being the UK Board representative for the Council, David joined the Commonwealth Board in October 2020 to help ensure the guiding principles are being maintained across the business and to gain a greater understanding of the group and the charitable aspects of the Scott Bader Commonwealth.

Ben Penney
Internally Elected Director

Ben joined Scott Bader in 2016, having previously worked in a sales and marketing role for 4 years after qualifying with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies in 2012.

Having joined as the Marketing Assistant, he progressed to the role of Group Marketing Manager in 2019 where he continues to lead Scott Bader’s marketing activities globally. In this role Ben led Scott Bader’s Centenary celebrations in 2021 and played a significant role in the Constitution review and relaunch of Scott Bader’s Constitution in 2023. Those projects helped further his knowledge and passion for Scott Bader and particularly the social impact the Commonwealth makes around the world.

Ben joined the Commonwealth Board to help ensure Scott Bader’s Core Values and Guiding Principles are maintained globally and to utilise his 10+ years of marketing and commercial experience.

John Brenchley
Former Employee Guardian Trustee

John is a strategic commercial leader with over two decades of experience driving growth, profitability, and market expansion in the global speciality chemicals and advanced materials sectors. His executive career spans leadership roles at multinational organisations, including Infineum (a Shell & ExxonMobil joint venture), spearheading EMEA marketing strategies, Basic Chemical Industries, in Saudi Arabia, where he served as Group Commercial Director, overseeing the GCC region and Univar Solutions where he was the Industry Leader for the Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants & Elastomers Business.

During his tenure as Northern European Sales Manager at Scott Bader, John aligned the teams with industry best practices focused on customer-centric strategies. His expertise in commercial transformation, negotiations, and P&L management was further honed through an Executive MBA from Cranfield University while at Scott Bader.

With extensive experience leading multicultural teams across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, John brings a global perspective to governance. He is particularly committed to sustainable business models where his approach blends commercial acumen with Scott Bader’s distinctive Commonwealth values.