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Our governance

Our Patron

We are privileged to have HRH The Princess Royal as our Patron, who takes an active interest in the work of the British Nutrition Foundation and our events. 

Honorary President

Judith Batchelar OBE is Honorary President of the British Nutrition Foundation. 

 

Judith’s food and drink industry experience spans three decades. She was formerly Director of Brand at Sainsbury’s with responsibilities ranging from policy formation to product development, food safety and packaging along with corporate responsibility and public affairs. Judith holds an Honorary Doctorate in Agriculture from Harper Adams University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturers.

 

She is a Non-Executive Director of the Environment Agency, Chair of the Rugby Players Association and a Trustee of The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Accounting for Sustainability and The Matt Hampson Foundation. Judith is also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust.

 

Judith was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to Farming and the Food Industry and is a Commissioner on the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. 

Governance

The British Nutrition Foundation Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and strategy of the British Nutrition Foundation. Trustees are appointed by the Nominations Committee and may serve for up to three, 3-year terms. 

 

To safeguard our independence, eight to twelve trustees must not have a personal interest in the food industry. The Board meets at least four times per year and delegates the day-to-day running of the British Nutrition Foundation to the Chief Executive and her Senior Leadership Team. 

 

Members of the Board of Trustees are unremunerated.  

Board of Trustees

Professor John Mathers (Chair)

Professor of Human Nutrition, Newcastle University

John’s research interests are in understanding how eating patterns influence risks of age-related disease.

 

John led the Food4Me intervention study that tested personalised interventions in dietary choices and health, and his research includes the use of genomic and epigenomics approaches to understand the mechanisms though which nutrition influences cell function and, ultimately, health. 

Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball (Vice-chair)

Consultant

Alyson is the founder of Conscious Impact and has extensive experience in the public health sector, academia and the global food industry. 

 

Alison is a member of the British Nutrition Foundation’s HR & Remuneration Committee. 

Professor Colin Dennis CBE

Food Scientist and Technologist

Colin has had a distinguished career in food science and technology and was awarded the CBE for services to the agri-food sector in 2009.

 

In addition, Colin received IFT’s Myron Solberg (2011) and Carl R Fellers (2019) awards for his leadership and outstanding contributions to food science and technology. 

Sam Fulton

Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director

Sam is Group Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director for Nomad Foods, having held senior corporate communications roles in Apple, Unilever, McDonalds and Nestle. 

 

Sam is a member of the British Nutrition Foundation’s Finance, Audit & Risk Committee. 

Des Irving-Brown (Treasurer)

Deputy CFO, NHS North West London

After a career in retail and commercial aviation, Des joined the NHS in 2010 and has since held a number of senior financial positions.

 

Des is Treasurer for the British Nutrition Foundation and Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee. 

Professor Sue Lanham-New

Professor of Nutrition and Head of Department, Surrey University

Sue is a Member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and Editor-in-Chief of the Nutrition Society Textbook Series.

 

Her research focuses on nutrition, bone health and Vitamin D, and Sue has won the Nutrition Society Medal and, in 2019, the BNF Prize, in recognition of this.   

 

Sue is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and the Association for Nutrition and is Honorary Secretary of the Nutrition Society. 

Professor Bernadette Moore

Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Leeds University.

Bernadette is a multidisciplinary Nutritional Scientist with expertise in nutrigenomics, proteomics, systems biology, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). 

 

She is Head of the Graduate School for the Faculty of Environment at Leeds University.  

Louise Redmond

Louise has significant board level experience in HR management, governance, risk and audit in commercial, public and charity sectors, having held senior positions at KPMG,  GlaxoSmithKline plc and the Bank of England.

 

Louise is Chair of the British Nutrition Foundation’s HR & Remuneration Committee. 

Alisdair Wotherspoon

Alisdair has had an extensive career in food related public service and was formerly Head of Science Delivery at the Food Standards Agency.

 

Alisdair brings significant experience of food safety and food security to the British Nutrition Foundation. 

 

Alisdair is a member of the British Nutrition Foundation’s HR & Remuneration Committee.

Luke Stockill

Commercial Director – Transformation, Asda

Luke brings significant experience of food retail to the British Nutrition Foundation, having held senior roles across Asda in Bakery, Meat & Fish and Core Grocery categories.

 

Luke is a member of the British Nutrition Foundation’s Finance, Audit & Risk Committee. 

Paul Wheeler

Director, Corporate Communications, Kellanova

Paul has more than 20 years’ experience in corporate communications and leads on external communications, brand PR, CSR and government relations for Kellanova.

 

Paul is also Chair of the Trafford Climate Emergency Commission and former Chair of Manchester Pride and the UK Breakfast Cereal Association. 

 

Paul is a member of the British Nutrition Foundation’s HR & Remuneration Committee.

Nominations Commitee

The Nominations Committee considers the skills and expertise required of the Board of Trustees and its Advisory Committee and recommends candidates to fill the Chief Executive, Board and Committee roles.  

 

Members of the Nominations Committee are unremunerated. 

 

Members  

  • Emeritus Professor Christine Williams, Reading University. (Chair) 
  • Professor John Mathers, Newcastle University 
  • Adrian Brown, Executive Director, People, Parkinsons UK (independent member).  

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee advises the Board of Trustees on external issues and its strategic plan. It comprises up to 10 members, appointed by the Nominations Committee, who serve for a maximum tenure of two, three-year terms.

 

Six members must not have a personal financial interest in the commercial food industry. The committee meets at least twice per year. 

 

Members of the Advisory Committee are unremunerated.  

 

Members 

  • Professor Janet Cade, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health, Leeds University (Chair)  
  • Kate Platts, Head of Research & Innovation, Westfield Heath (Deputy Chair) 
  • Judith Batchelar OBE, Director of Food Matters International 
  • Professor Emeritus John Blundell, Leeds University 
  • Professor Gary Frost, Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics, Imperial College London 
  • Dr Sue Gatenby, Senior Director, Nutrition Europe, PepsiCo UK Ltd 
  • Glynis Henderson, Education consultant 
  • Professor Kevin Whelan, Professor of Dietetics and Head of Department of Nutritional Sciences, King’s College London 
  • Professor Martin Wiseman, Visiting Professor in Human Nutrition, Southampton University 
  • Claire Hughes, Director of Product & Innovation, Sainsburys 
  • Mandy Davies, formerly Director of Dietetics and Wellbeing, Aramark

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee advises on the interpretation and translation of scientific information and provides external scrutiny to position papers and scientific reviews.  

 

It comprises up to 30 members from diverse areas of science, and at least 20 of 30 members may not have a personal interest in the food industry. Members serve a maximum tenure of two, three-year terms.  

 

The Committee meets at least twice per year, and members are unremunerated.  

  • Sara Stanner, Science Director, British Nutrition Foundation (Chair) 
  • Elaine Hindal, Chief Executive, British Nutrition Foundation (Deputy Chair) 
  • Barbara Bray MBE, Independent Registered Nutritionist and Food Safety consultant 
  • Dr Adrian Brown, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University College London  
  • Dr S Bryngelsson, Project Manager Sustainable Nutrition, RISE and Senior Lecturer in Food and Meal Science, Kristianstad University 
  • Dr Erini Dimidi, Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences, King's College London 
  • Laura Farrell, Nutrition & Health Manager Product Quality, Tesco 
  • Nicky Gillett, Nutrition & Health Development Manager, Allied Bakeries 
  • Kavita Karnick, Vice President of Global Nutrition and Open Innovation, Tate & Lyle 
  • Dr Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, Reading University  
  • Dr A Lake, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Teesside University 
  • Professor Jennie MacDiarmid, Professor of Sustainable Nutrition and Health, Aberdeen University
  • Dr Duane Mellor, Lead for Nutrition and Evidence Based Medicine, Aston University 
  • Professor Lisa Methven, Professor of Food and Sensory Science, Reading University  
  • Barbara Monks, Food Education consultant 
  • Professor Peter Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Bristol University
  • Professor Tom Sanders, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition & Dietetics at Kings College London 
  • Professor David Stensel, Professor of Exercise Metabolism and Associate Dean for Research, Loughborough University 
  • Professor Emma Stevenson, Head of School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences, Newcastle University 
  • Dr James Stewart, Clinical Lead for Adult Nutrition, University Hospitals of Leicester 
  • Laura Street, Registered Nutritionist and Trustee and Registration Committee Chair, Association for Nutrition
  • Matt Towner, Portfolio Manager, Impact on Urban Health 
  • Dr Lisa Wilson, Public Health Lead, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils