The Fair Tax Foundation has a staff team, a Board of Directors and a Technical Advisory Group that guides the Mark’s standards and criteria. In addition to our core staff, we utilise a much valued network of contractors to support accounts analysis and communications.
The Fair Tax Foundation is seeking to expand and diversify its Board, as described in our Fair Tax Foundation Board Development Plan (November 2021).
Paul Monaghan – Chief Executive
Paul was a co-founder of the Fair Tax Foundation in 2014, and became Chief Executive in September 2017. Previously, he was architect of much of the UK co-operative movement’s ethical and environmental excellence for nearly two decades. Before that he combined biological sciences research with campaigning on Third World debt and ethical lending.
He led sustainability programmes across the Co-operative Group in areas as diverse as Food, Banking, Insurance, Pharmacy, Funerals and Travel. Contributions included the creation of world-class programmes of environmental management, ethical finance, sustainability reporting and a unique commitment to campaigning and progressive public policy intervention. In 2014, was voted first in Global CEO’s “Top 100 CSR Leaders” poll.
He has previously served as a member of WWF-UK’s Programme Committee, BRE’s Sustainability Board and Accountability’s Council, where he co-chaired their Technical Committee for a number of years. He regularly lectures at various Business Schools and co-authored the well-received Lobbying for Good. The rise and fall of Wigan Athletic keeps him awake at night.
Contact Paul on +44 (0)161 513 8165
Jaime Boswell – Head of Accreditation
Jaime comes from an accounting and taxation background, with professional qualifications and experience in both. Over the last decade, he has worked for a range of accountancy firms – from small family businesses to one of the top ten accountancy firms – and has experience working with a variety of clients, from small sole traders to big plc corporates.
Jaime believes that every business should be transparent with their reports and taxes, and present them in a way that can be understood by the user.
Contact Jaime on +44 (0)161 513 8149
Graham Drummond – Head of Communications
Graham brings a wealth of communications experience built up from a career in the third sector.
Having previously led on national awareness campaigns and behaviour change projects, Graham has spent much of his professional life engaging with a wide variety of audiences.
Graham believes that tax is the foundation of fairness in our society and is proud to be making the world a better place with the Fair Tax Foundation team.
Contact Graham on +44(0)161 513 8019
Nora Blascsok – Communications and Events Officer
Nora has gained most of her communications experience in the higher education sector, leading on communications and engagement for large UK and EU research projects.
Prior to joining the Fair Tax Foundation, Nora worked for an international development consultancy where she managed the website and organised several high-profile webinars. She is an experienced editor and writer with a passion for storytelling.
Nora believes fair taxation is an important part of social justice and is excited to support this through her work. She speaks five languages and enjoys writing poetry in her spare time.
Contact Nora on +44(0)161 513 7197
Tom Skinner – Chief Operating Officer
Tom co-founded Greater Manchester Poverty Action, and was co-Director and Chief Operating Officer there for five years. During this time, he ran the GM Food Poverty Alliance, managed the Tameside Poverty Truth Commission, developed Money Advice Referral Tools, and oversaw day-to-day operations.
Before GMPA, he coordinated the GM Living Wage Campaign, and led many other charities and campaign groups, as well as serving for a year as General Secretary of the University of Manchester Students’ Union.
Tom believes we need to address wealth and power inequalities for a better world, and that fair tax systems and practices are foundational to this.
Contact Tom on +44 (0)161 513 7930
Mary Patel – Fair Tax Networks Manager
Mary is a project manager and researcher with over 15 years of experience in the charity and business sector.
Mary is a firm believer that businesses work best when they focus on the triple bottom line. She started out as a researcher and writer for Ethical Consumer before moving into the business sector where she worked for several years on policy issues and development. Previous work has included sustainability accounting and reporting, the advancement of policy on renewable energy and progressive policy engagement on behalf of small business.
She is currently working on a number of projects including work around public procurement, fair tax localities and the networking of fair tax businesses.
Outside of work Mary is involved with a local community group, helping to revitalise neglected bits of urban green space, and runs a mental health support group.
Contact Mary on +44 (0)161 513 8129
Esme Lawrence – Business Development and Research Officer
Esme has joined the Fair Tax Foundation from a fast-paced accounting background. She brings years of focused experience working closely with businesses to provide clear and transparent accounts in the spirit of government guidelines. Esme believes that proportionate and transparent taxation is fundamental to a fairer society and is excited to support this through her work.
Outside of work, Esme can be found in the stands of Old Trafford Cricket ground cheering on her beloved Lancashire Lightning.
Contact Esme on +44 (0)161 513 8116
Greg Yates – Senior Accreditation Manager
Greg is a chartered accountant, attaining his qualification at a local accountancy practice in 2011. After a further period in practice, gaining experience in tax, audit and accounts preparation, he more recently completed a stint as group accountant at a manufacturing business.
Greg believes in responsible tax conduct and is enthusiastic about promoting this through his work as part of our accreditation team.
He is a former University of Manchester student, where he studied Maths with Finance – and a keen spectator and follower of most sports, especially Bolton Wanderers.
Contact Greg on +44 (0)161 521 1966
The Board of Directors oversees and steers the Fair Tax Foundation’s development. Board members may sometimes work on the scheme on a part-time basis when staff workloads are excessive or a particular expertise is needed.
Rob Harrison – Chair
Rob Harrison is the consultancy manager and a director of Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA). Rob was one of three founder directors of ECRA in 1987.
Since that date he has worked as a consultant to NGOs (including Oxfam, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace) on engaging consumers in their campaigns, as an advisor to government departments (including those in the Belgium, Austria and Brazil) on encouraging the use of ethical consumption and procurement for social and environmental goals, as a consultant to consumer organisations (including groups in Spain and Hungary) on researching the CSR performance of companies, and to companies (including the Co-operative Bank and Lush Cosmetics) on developing world-leading ethical policies and implementing them in practice.
He has also edited and contributed to academic work in this area including ‘The Ethical Consumer’ (Sage, 2005) and ‘Green Building Handbook’ (Routledge, 1997).
He has also been an editor of Ethical Consumer magazine since its inception in 1989. In addition Rob has spoken widely in the press, on radio and on TV, and also to universities and campaign groups around the world on the importance of facilitating ethical consumption.
Chris Harrop OBE
Chris Harrop is Sustainability Director at Marshalls plc. An accomplished marketer with a proven global track record, Chris’ persistent contribution has ensured that Marshalls not only leads the hard landscaping sector but is also a world-class sustainable business. Under Chris’ guidance, the business has won numerous awards for commitment to the environment and supply chain ethics, including Business in the Community Awards for Excellence and the PLC Awards on three occasions.
Chris was Chairman of the United Nations Global Compact UK Network for four years from January 2013, and he has remained a Non-Executive Director of the Ethical Trade Initiative since his appointment in January 2011. In June 2017 Chris became Chairman of Made in Britain. Chris was rated fifth in Ethical Corporation’s Heroes of Sustainability in 2007 and was named a Business Game Changer’ by BITC in 2012. In 2018, he was ranked as one of the Top 100 Modern Slavery Business Influencers and was named BtB Marketer of the Year by BtB International.
One of Chris’s proudest moments came in the 2019 New Year Honours List, when Her Majesty the Queen appointed Chris as an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Prevention of Modern Slavery and Exploitation.
Harriet Lamb CBE
Harriet Lamb is the CEO of Ashden, the climate solutions charity. She previously headed up Fairtrade in both the UK and internationally, and authored Fighting the Banana Wars. The first woman to be made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, she was appointed a CBE in 2006 and was named Orange Businesswoman of the Year in 2008.
Harriet joined the board in 2021, bringing her vast experience and knowledge in building and bolstering fairness and social justice internationally. As businesses worldwide seek the Fair Tax Mark accreditation to demonstrate their commitment to responsible tax conduct and transparency, her expertise will help the Fair Tax Foundation expand and thrive beyond the shores of the UK.
Tim Hunt
Tim Hunt is a researcher, communications chief and director of Ethical Consumer Research Association.
Tim has worked in alternative media for eight years. He was a founder of radical publication Manchester Mule and is now a worker director of Ethical Consumer magazine and a board member at Red Pepper magazine.
He left university in 2002 and embarked on a “career” in activism working on a number of social and environmental justice projects including the Camp for Climate Action, Action for Sustainable Living and the Basement Social Center, while also conducting freelance research focused on the local economy and democracy. He returned to university in 2007 and gained a masters degree in sustainability before joining Ethical Consumer in 2008.
Recently Tim has been leading on Ethical Consumer’s Boycott Amazon campaign, which provides consumers with tax-paying alternatives to online retailer and arch tax avoider Amazon. He also broke the story of the London 2012 Olympics as a tax haven and worked with 38 Degrees on the successful campaign to get the corporate sponsors to waive their right to the Olympic-sized tax break offered to them for the duration of the games.
Rachel McEwen
Rachel joined SSE in 2007 and, as Director of Sustainability, is responsible for its sustainability strategy, partnership funding and corporate heritage. She is a non-executive director of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
External to SSE, Rachel is Chair of the Business Leadership Group of Living Wage Scotland and is on the board of the Fair Tax Foundation. Formerly Rachel was the Senior Special Adviser and speechwriter to Scotland’s First Minister between 2001 and 2007.
She graduated in 2009 from St Andrews University with a Master of Literature in International Political Thought, with a first degree in 1993 in Applied Economics from the University of Abertay, Dundee.
The Technical Advisory Group communicates throughout the year and meets as and when needed to help, for example, shape the development of the Fair Tax Mark criteria notes and standards. The Group are drawn from a range of backgrounds and perspectives.
Assessors
In addition to our core team, we have a contracted network of trained assessors to support corporate accreditation.
Digital support
Data Content Reach help us out with our digital marketing and communications.
