Meet Our Trustees

Claire’s career as a Town Planner diversified into senior, wide-ranging partnership, policy and delivery roles in local and central Government. She has been self-employed during the last few years and worked on Government contracts with Worcestershire and Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnerships to help small-to-corporate businesses.   

Claire is helping Bishop Vesey Grammar School develop its business community relationships to help further the School’s reputation. She is also managing Interns and their initial steps into the business world through networking events. She is Chair of St Paul’s Hostel for the Homeless in Worcester and Chair of the RTPI National Partnership Accreditation Panel.  

She has an MBA (2004) and BSc Town Planning (1979). She is a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. 

Appointed 7 February 2018 

David is a Sutton resident raised and educated in our Royal Town. A community activist for over 40 years, he has been a governor at 5 schools and is a Birmingham City and Royal Sutton Town Councillor representing Trinity ward. A banker by profession David has been a director of a trade association bank which supports independent high street retailers, a member of Community Sports and Physical Activity Network (CSPAN), a founder member of Friends of Rectory Park (FORP), Chairman of Sutton Park Advisory Committee, and Vice Chairman of Clifton Road Youth Centre. David is married to Caroline with three adult sons. 

Appointed – 13 November 2018

Russell is a retired management professional in the technology sector with experience of operations development within global organisations and extensive out-sourcing and merger & acquisition projects. A resident of Royal Sutton Coldfield since 2014, he is active in the local community forum of Wylde Green. 

 Appointed 6 June 2017

Raised in Sutton Coldfield, Robin has a strong personal connection to the area and is passionate about protecting the town’s heritage while helping its cultural life continue to grow. He believes the Town Hall has an important role to play in bringing people together through live performance, community events, arts, education and local creativity.

Robin brings extensive experience from a long career in banking, where he led major strategy, governance, transformation and commercial decision-making work.

Robin is also a Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Councillor for Walmley and Minworth, and is committed to supporting local institutions and helping Sutton Coldfield remain a vibrant place to live, work, visit and raise a family.

Appointed June 2026

Kaleem is a multi-disciplinary change management specialist having worked on regulatory transformation and compliance programmes in the public and private sectors for nearly two decades as part of his executive management professional career.

Kaleem is a passionate advocate for volunteering and mentoring where he has represented and partnered with multiple educational institutions, charities and voluntary organisations to nurture economic vitality, entrepreneurism and develop more harmonious, peaceful and cohesive local communities in the West-Midlands. He was formerly a mentor for One Million Mentors Programme and Mosaic-founded by HM King Charles III to inspire young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. He received the Ambassador for Peace Award from the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in 2024 for his peace advocacy work.

Kaleem is a Fellow at Better Climate Governance and a passionate advocate for the ESG agenda, improving climate change governance along with being an active member of various professional sustainability forums and bodies in the UK.

Kaleem is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (FRSA), Associate Fellow at the Royal Historical Society (AFRHistS), and a Member of the Chartered Management Institute (MCMI).

Kaleem is passionate about bringing people together through entertainment, arts-culture, heritage by fostering togetherness and shared experiences.

He has an academic-professional background in law, economics, financial services and project management.

Appointed August 2025

Richard is a native of Sutton Coldfield and has been Director of Music at Aldridge School. He is passionate about giving equal opportunities to all children regardless of background.

As such he developed a music scholarship programme that brought income to the school which now spends £60,000 annually providing fee instrumental lessons to pupils. He makes a valuable contribution to the music and cultural life of North Birmingham and has run two children’s choirs at Emmanuel, Wylde Green, the Sutton Choral Society and Sutton Coldfield Chamber Choir. Richard was instrumental in the formation of the Trust and it’s engagement with stakeholders and potential partners. 

Appointed 23 February 2016

Rosemary, a native of Sutton Coldfield, has always championed her hometown. She began as a singer, training at Birmingham School of Music, Sussex University, and with notable teachers in London. Her career included concerts, recitals, opera, and oratorio performances in the Midlands and South England. With her husband, she co-founded Sussex Opera to make opera more accessible.

Back in the Midlands, Rosemary became a company director in Walsall, a music teacher, and an aromatherapist. As chairman of the Town Hall Users Company, she played a key role in saving the Town Hall twice from closure.

Currently, she is an English Language and Literature Coach, dedicated to helping students of all levels reach their full potential.

Appointed 1 July 2019