Profiles



Katharine Ford FRSA

Katharine Ford is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has a BSc degree in Organisational Psychology. She is a SFEDI and SBS approved business adviser with over 15 years experience in business advice and management consultancy in the private, public, charitable and social enterprise sectors. Katharine is a former Social Enterprise Business Adviser with Business Link - she worked on a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-funded project pioneering social enterprise business support and development. Katharine was for several years a commercial property manager with Grand Metropolitan Plc (renamed Diageo), responsible for managing a portfolio of properties and licensed businesses. She also worked on training within British Airways and was the marketing manager of a high growth start-up company.

Gibril Faal FRSA, JP

Gibril Faal is a multidisciplinary practitioner with an eclectic professional background. He has been a management consultant, business adviser and University lecturer for over 15 years, working on private, public and NGO development. In the past 5 years, he played a significant role in the development of social enterprise strategy and practice in the United Kingdom. Whilst on a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-funded project, he was one of the pioneers of social enterprise business support delivery. He was previously associate lecturer with The Open University, teaching on the MSc course in Global Development Management. In June 2006 he was appointed to undertake the independent impact evaluation of University of Oxford's Centre for Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS). He also sits part time as a magistrate. Qualifications include; Combined Honours degree in Law, Finance & Management, and postgraduate degrees in both Environmental Sciences and Development Studies.

She managed the charitable activities within two FTSE100 companies. Katharine also works on developing ways through which businesses can practically apply, implement and integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies within standard business operations. Her voluntary and public services include: past treasurer and steering group member of Community Open Space Enterprise; current member of London Social Economy Task Force; current member of LA Connect (Social enterprise advisory body for London boroughs); current member of Stratford City, Lee Valley and Olympic 2012 Steering Group (sub-committee on social enterprise and CSR).

 


 

He is a member of the Institute of Islamic Banking & Insurance, Chartered Institute of Arbitration, Chartered Management Institute and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Past member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and the Institution of Environmental Sciences. Gibril also works on the linkages between Islamic and ethical finance and the application of social enterprise business models to international development. He is the founder of 'Remit Aid™: Remittance Tax Relief for International Development' and the Chairman of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD), a UK-based charity which works to extend and enhance the development role of Diasporans and migrants. He has written extensively on diverse topics ranging from political economy to business management, environmental issues to anthropological themes.