CAST expands its Board with five new trustee appointments

Launched in 2015, CAST is a young charity with a big ambition to change the way that the UK charitable sector operates by using digital tools and techniques to become more resilient and responsive. CAST provides direct support to charities, funders and other civil society organisations around digital development, and incubates Catalyst, a major collaborative to accelerate UK civil society’s resilience through digital, data and design. 

Society led a Board growth campaign for CAST during the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with high demand for its services and full of ambitious goals to grow digital capacity in a pro social context, CAST identified a need to build its Board capacity. We worked with existing trustees to define a cross-sector search strategy spanning candidates with experience of charity leadership, digital transformation and organisational development. Five successful appointments resulted.

Lara Burns is Chief Digital Officer of The Scouts. She has spent 25 years delivering digital innovation across diverse sectors.

Kate Collins is CEO of the Teenage Cancer Trust. She has worked in UK charities for nearly 20 years and is leading a strategy at TCT to ensure that the charity can reach all young people with cancer in the UK.

Gaia Ines Fassò is an advisor on digital innovation strategy, programmes and operating models. She works with multinational companies, social impact incubators and startups, and has deep expertise in the technology, digital education and digital financial services sectors.

Professor Kerensa Jennings is a storyteller, strategist, writer, and digital impact specialist. She is Director of Digital Impact at the BT Group, and a Visiting Professor of Media, Strategy and Communications at the University of Huddersfield.

Pema Radha is Chief of Staff, Global Managed Services at EY. She is an expert in organisational change, business operations and HR, and is passionate about diversity and inclusion.

Kerensa said of her experience working with Society: “Society specialise in working with responsible, purposeful businesses, and I really admire the fact they are a pioneering B Corp company in their own right. I found the team friendly, supportive and informative and hope to have the chance to collaborate with them again in the future.”

Pema also commented on Society’s partnership: “Working with Tanya and Society was a wonderful experience. They matched me perfectly with the right Trustee role for me, and were hugely supportive throughout the whole process, guiding me every step of the way. I could not be happier. They do not just partner with you, they truly care! And I feel very lucky to have found them.”