Our Team

MIchael Phair joined CFAB as a Trustee in Oct 2018 and became Chairman in January 2019. Michael has held executive board level positions since 1988 with a number of City merchant and investment banking houses, starting with N M Rothschild for over 8 years and most recently with Bear Stearns International until 2003. Prior to that, Michael lived and worked in a number of countries in North and South America as a commercial and development banker, including a three-year appointment at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) in Washington. He has been the founding shareholder of a number of successful private equity investments in the UK and overseas. A British citizen, Michael is currently the Founder and CEO of REG (UK) Ltd., the leading online counter-party risk management platform in the UK Insurance Market.

Henok is a qualified chartered accountant with various senior finance positions. He is currently the Group Financial Control at Mintel Group limited, a leading market research company. He holds BA (Hons.) in accounting finance (Greenwich University) , an MBA (Cass Business School) and is Fellow of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Anita was previously Head of Human Resources for the Continental Tyre Group, as well as Appointments Manager and Management/Executive Development Manager at British Telecom. She holds an MBA in Business and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing. Anita’s passion for social work and child protection came from time spent travelling in South East Asia, China, Mongolia and Russia. Anita chairs the finance and HR group and was Acting CEO from July 2016 - January 2017.

Douglas Lewis CBE is President of CFAB. He was the Chair of CFAB between 2004 and 2014. From 2010 to 2014 he was also Chair of the Governing Board of the International Social Service Network (ISS). Between 2014 and 2018 he was the International President of the International Social Service Network (ISS), of which CFAB is the UK branch. He is the first UK citizen to hold this position since Sir Clive Bossom between 1984 and 1989.

David is a qualified social worker with significant senior management and service inspection experience in social services. He was Deputy Director and Professional Adviser for Ofsted, leaving in 2010. He was Chair of Leicester LSCB (2010-16) and Chair of the Association of LSCB Chairs (2014-16). He has substantial experience working with Parliament, Ministers and government officials – including as a government adviser on the implementation of the Every Child Matters initiative. David is a former Honorary President of the International Federation of Social Workers and is currently a member of the Board of the British Association of Social Workers.

Mark runs his own FCA-registered consulting business, Tate Consultancy Limited, having spent a 34-year career in financial services. He has previously worked for credit asset management business ECM, as Managing Director for Debt Markets for Mitsubishi Bank in London, and as London Managing Director and Head of Debt Markets distribution for Nomura. He has been a CFAB Trustee since 2013.

Christopher is a barrister and Queens’ counsel in 4pb chambers. He has practised in family law for over 30 years, developing a practice in cases which cover the whole spectrum of modern international children and their families, including cross-border child abduction, overseas adoptions, placement of children abroad, FGM, child trafficking and disputes between parents living in different countries. He is a committee member of the Child Abduction Lawyers Association and is a case reviewer for the Bar Pro Bono Unit. He joined the Board of Trustees of CFAB in January 2018.

Angie has a lengthy experience in Fundraising and Development. She is currently Managing Director at the Al Madad Foundation and was previously Director of Development at the Westminster School and Campaign Director at the American Cancer Society. She is passionate about creating change, building capacity and sharing knowledge. She has an MA in Cultural Heritage from UCL.

Victoria Mellor is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of NEX, a CME Group company. Victoria has 20 years’ experience working for both large and small companies across finance and technology. Victoria specialises in developing and delivering fully integrated strategic marketing and communications plans to drive business success. Victoria also has significant experience working as a volunteer with various charities such as ChildLine and Terrence Higgins Trust providing counselling and mental health support.

Anna Nash has spent more than 18 years in the hospitality industry working with some of the finest hotels, brands and travel experiences in the world. Currently, as the Head of Global Public Relations for Aman, Anna, who is well-networked, directs all brand communications, public relations initiatives, reputation management, and partnerships and events for the company.

Richard Morris MBE is currently an Assistant Director with Cafcass with responsibility for the Southeast Region and the National Associate Population. He has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified and registered Social Worker holding a number of Senior Management positions inside and outside of his Social Work profession. Previously Richard has travelled extensively and worked alongside organisations such as UNHCR, Princes Trust Volunteers and International Red Cross.

Cornelia is currently Assistant Director for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Help in Northamptonshire County Council and previously Improvement Director for Lincolnshire County Council and the East Midlands Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliance. Prior to this, Cornelia was Head of Service in Lincolnshire, where she ran integrated social care, early help and public health services and had the strategic lead for Early Help, Lincolnshire Children's Centres offer, and the integration of Public Health into the Local Authority. 

Cornelia is both a registered nurse and a qualified social worker. Having extensive leadership experience in public services, she started her social work career in Romania where she also taught Theory and Method in Social Work.

Hilka Hollmann is an experienced children lawyer and partner at Freemans Solicitors. She specialises in care proceedings often involving the most serious of allegations of non-accidental injury, sexual abuse, factitious illness and radicalisation, and cases involving the international movement of children, international adoptions and international surrogacy.