New financial director for CaRT
AS FROM this week, Canal & River Trust (CaRT) will have a new Finance Director, Sandra Kelly, writes Allan Richards.
She will replace Philip Ridal who is stepping down following poor financial returns from CaRT's wholly owned marina subsidiary, British Waterways Marinas Ltd. (The BWML disaster). There will be a three month transition to enable the Trust to produce its accounts for 2014/15.
Sandra Kelly
The new Finance Director comes with experience in insurance, financial services, technology and motor industry. Most recently she has been Finance Director for the National House Building Council (eight years). However, careful to avoid anything that might suggest that they are a housing authority, the Trust does not mention this but highlights previous experience in a number of roles with BMW.
Old guard
Since the appointment of Chief Executive, Richard Parry, less than two years ago, three of his five fellow British Waterway ‘old guard' executives have ‘stepped down'.
First to go was ‘legal director' Nigel Johnson following his revelation that the Trust needed to be spending about £50m more than it actually does on maintaining its waterways. Simon Salem, Marketing & Fundraising' director officially leaves in June but is believed to be on gardening leave following poor performance on fundraising, falling numbers of licenced boats. His official leaving date is the same as that of Phillip Ridal.
Even ‘old guard' Trustees do not seem immune from the axe with John Bridgeman, one of CaRT's appointees on the non-existent Waterways Ombudsman Committee, ‘stepping down' following the Ombusman Scandal (New ‘Ombudsman' Scheme?).
Few left
When British Waterways became Canal & River Trust, two Board members became Trustees and some six executive directors continued in office. Of the eight, only three are left. Regarding the remaining executive directors, Vince Moran (Operations Director) is understood to be leaving later this year but no announcement has been made. The future of Property Director, Stuart Mills is unknown.
That leaves just Chairman of the Trustees, Tony Hales, who has suggested twice that he would ‘step down' but has failed to do so.
With few of the ‘old guard' left to support him, one wonders how long he will remain.