Our team

Symon Elliott is Founder and CEO of Leaders Futures, an enterprise offering mentoring to senior executives in both business and civil society. He was previously Managing Director of CEO and Board Services at Russell Reynolds Associates.

Clare Montagu is Chief Executive Officer at Poppy's, an award-winning modern independent funeral directors in London which provides unrivalled choice, flexibility and transparency to people needing to plan a funeral. In previous roles, Clare worked at a hospice, for a sexual health charity and for over 10 years in politics.

Amanda Holgate is the Chief Financial Officer at Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing, care and support to people over 55 years old. Prior to this, she was Executive Director Resources at Southern Housing Group, a large registered provider of social housing. Amanda is an experienced finance professional, joining the social housing sector in 2014 after a long career in the private sector including financial services and real estate development and management.

Cheryl Avery is the Head of Operations for the Marine Division of The Crown Estate. She has over 30 years of business and commercial experience gained from the private and public sectors. This includes holding a series of leadership posts with organisations such as the Home Office, Accenture, DXC, Fujitsu, NatWest, and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Darren Douglas is an Advice Manager at Imperial College London, where he provides pastoral support and advice to the university's students. Darren is a former resident of Centrepoint and has over 10 years' experience working within youth, education and advisory sectors. Darren is the author of Power of 21: Pathways Towards A Brighter Future.

Mike Westcott was formally the Global Human Resources Director and Group Commercial Property Director at National Grid. Before joining the National Grid, Mike worked for Diageo for 14 years in a number of senior HR roles.

Tsion Balcha works at LDPath, which manages 33,000 NHS patients. Tsion also has extensive experience in youth work within Centrepoint and Camden Council. She is a former Centrepoint resident and has chaired and led a young people's group to speak up on issues they were passionate about. Since leaving Centrepoint, Tsion graduated in Development Studies at SOAS University.  

Tom Wood has a career in financial services as a commercial leader. Having worked for leading companies such as Barclays and Shawbrook, Tom enjoys developing successful strategies and solving complex problems. In the recent past Tom has added consulting, advising and investing in to his professional life.

Tarek has over 25 years of experience in financial services and he co-founded Crossbridge Capital, where he is currently Group CEO leading the firm's businesses that serve the wealth management needs of high-net-worth clients globally.

Prior to this he held leading roles in financial services with Credit Suisse and JP Morgan and in journalism with CNN and Fox News.

Tarek holds a BA degree in Economics from Georgetown University and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

He is a Trustee and Patron of the NSPCC as well as on the Board of publicly listed specialist motor finance & bridging lender, S&U PLC.

Tarek was awarded an MBE by her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2021.

Chris is CEO of London-based strategic advisory firm Audley which works with leaders in business and government to help them achieve their political, professional and personal goals.

Over a twenty-year career, he has operated at the highest levels of government, politics, business and diplomacy, advising prime ministers, politicians, CEOs and military leaders on everything from strategic communications, storytelling, public policy, stakeholder engagement and crisis management strategies.

In 2018, Chris co-founded the Atlantic Future Forum – an annual gathering of military leaders, security officials and policymakers that exists to explore the future of the defence, security and technology relationships between the US, UK and EU.

Chris has worked in a number of countries around the world including Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, the UAE, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, as well as the UK and US. He is a regular commentator on politics and global affairs on TV and radio and has been published by the Times, Guardian and Daily Mail newspapers among others.

David joined the Board of Barratt Homes Plc as an Executive Director and Group Finance Director on 21 July 2009, and was appointed Chief Executive on 1 July 2015. 

David has a wealth of financial and leadership experience acquired over a number of years in senior positions.

He is a Non-Executive Director of the HBF and an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

He was formerly Group Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive of The GAME Group plc. 

Prior to this he was the Group Finance Director at Millennium and Copthorne Hotels plc and held senior financial roles within House of Fraser and Forte plc. 

David is Chair of the Future Homes Hub, a representative on the Green Jobs Delivery Group, a member of the Net Zero Buildings Council and a Senior Adviser to the Construction Leadership Council.

Emma Fraser is a senior civil servant whose experience in Government includes work in housing, transport, social care and wider economic policy and programme delivery. 

She has been Director of Housing Markets and Strategy at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2019 and is on the Board of Homes England, the Government’s housing delivery agency.

Mike is He is an experienced developer whose expertise focuses on delivering complex design, development and build projects, often via partnerships between the public and private sectors. 

Mike is CEO of LandsecU+I, Landsec’s regeneration arm and is responsible for driving forward the portfolio of transformative mixed-use regeneration projects across the UK. 

Prior to joining U+I in 2020, Mike was Managing Director at Capital & Counties Properties PLC (Capco), where he led the 77 acre/£10 billion Earls Court project and subsequent sale and spearheaded major, award-winning heritage and restoration projects for Capco’s prestigious Covent Garden estate. 

Mike trained in the UK and Holland as an Architect.

Orla is an experienced Chief Executive with an unwavering commitment to achieve the best for people, to reduce homelessness, and social injustice. Orla has an acute understanding and foresight of the challenges and opportunities in housing and the wider community with over 30 years experience working in the housing sector.

Orla leads Housing Solutions a hugely successful, modern, and ambitious housing provider operating in the South East with an outstanding reputation as an organisation that achieves more for local people. 

Previously Orla was the Chief Executive of Hounslow Homes, the Chief Transformation Officer at the LB of Hounslow, Chief Executive of CDS Co-operatives and MD at Genesis Housing Group. 

Orla’s passion is to ensure people and especially vulnerable children benefit from a secure and safe place to live. 

Steve graduated from Bristol University and worked at the Bank of England before subsequently working in a number of Financial Institutions latterly as HR Director for Phoenix Holdings plc, the FTSE 10 savings and pension business. 

Steve is a NED for the commercial arm of Living Streets, the charity for everyday walking (formerly The Pedestrians Association), where he also serves on the charity’s Audit and Risk Committee. Steve still works part time as an Executive Coach and HR Consultant.

Seyi is Centrepoint's Chief Executive Officer, and is responsible for the whole organisation. He works closely with the Senior Executive Team to ensure we achieve our vision of ending youth homelessness. He became chief executive in 2009, and since this time, he has developed a passionate concern for disadvantaged young people, especially those that are homeless.

Balbir has worked in public policy for over 25 years, developing expertise covering young people in the labour market, housing, welfare benefits and participation. Balbir has experience of working in the civil service and the charitable sector. In addition, she has been a governor in a primary school and a secondary school. She has supported young people directly as a youth worker and as a student counsellor. Balbir is particularly keen on ensuring young people develop the skills and have the platform to advocate for themselves and their peers.

Karen is responsible for making sure we're spending donations wisely, and planning for the future of Centrepoint. When she's not in the office, you're likely to see Karen clad in orange training for one of the many challenges she's taking on for Centrepoint.

Julie is responsible for raising the vital funds which enable the charity to deliver its crucial services to young people. With a fundraising career spanning more than 17 years, Julie has raised millions of pounds for high profile charities including Teenage Cancer Trust, British Red Cross, Amnesty International, UNICEF UK and International Rescue Committee.

Ed is responsible for the delivery of Centrepoint’s frontline services for young people across the country. He has worked in social care for over 20 years, both within the UK and internationally. Before joining Centrepoint he was Chief Executive of the veterans’ charity Stoll and Chief Executive of the homelessness charity SPEAR.

Sally is responsible for ensuring the best people are working for Centrepoint, and that they’re getting the support and training they need. She has more than 25 years’ experience working in the Skills and Employability industry, across the public and private sectors.

Adam works across the organisation to join up our efforts to end youth homelessness nationally by 2037. Previously he was Corporate Director of Strategy and Performance at Barnardo's and Assistant Chief Executive at Victim Support as well as working in the Cabinet Office and at PA Consulting.

Órla is responsible for building and developing high level relationships with our donors, partners, and supporters to help achieve Centrepoint's overall aim – to get our young people into a home and a job. Órla was introduced to Centrepoint as a voluntary fundraiser, working on Centrepoint's inaugural gala and awards event at The Royal Albert Hall back in 2011.