Stephen Cohen – Chair of Judges

Stephen is Beacon’s Chairman of Trustees.

Stephen has worked in the asset management business for over 25 years in multiple roles, in America, Asia and in Europe. He has worked in both research and fund management, specialising in Japanese equities as well as the business development and business management sides of the industry. He has started two businesses in Japan in 1985 and in 1990. In 1995 he led the creation of Mercury Asset Management's global mutual fund business ahead of the merger with Merrill Lynch. He has also been CEO of Dresdner RCm in the UK, headed up Zurich Scudder Investments European business development and most recently was Head of Putnam Investments for the EMEA Region.

John Barwick MBE

John Barwick joined Coutts & Co in 1975 and has held various positions but has concentrated over the last 15 or more years in creating the Charities proposition for Coutts and adding value to the Charity client relationship through specialism in the Charity Sector.

John is currently a Trustee of Action Against Hunger, Canine Partners and the Royal Life Saving Society (in June 2009 will become Deputy Commonwealth President of the Society) and is Chairman of Wooden Spoon Hampshire and Isle of Wight Committee, sits on the City Panel of Treloar Trust, sits on various steering groups with Spinal Research. He advises many other Charities on various issues as they arise.

He has sat on the Management Board of the Royal Life Saving Society UK, and until July 2007 was Chairman of Junior Rugby at Alton RFC.

John’s interests are mainly Rugby (with a passion!), music (playing the guitar badly!). He lives in Alton and is married with two children aged 14 and 17.

John was awarded an MBE in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List for "Services to Banking and to Charity" and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Matthew Bowcock

Matthew Bowcock describes himself as a “reconstructed” serial entrepreneur. He has started up technology companies in Australia the US and the UK but is now working for charitable foundations.

After studying Law, he worked for multinational computer companies in the UK and Australia before setting up his own software business. He was Chief Executive of the company for ten years, living and working in South East Asia and Silicon Valley. In 1998 he merged it with a UK company and was a board director of the combined public company. In 2000, he sold his share of the company and founded Despatchbox Ltd, a software security company, and a year later was one of the founders of Sciona Inc, a nutritional genetics company which is now headquartered in Colorado. He was Chairman of both companies for a number of years.

In 2000, he established the Hazelhurst Trust, a family charitable trust, and in 2005 became a trustee of the Surrey Community Foundation and vice-chairman, assisting the director with donor development. He is also a trustee of the Community Foundation Network, the national body that links the 55 or so Community Foundations in the UK, and becomes its Chair later this year. He spends most of his time now working to increase philanthropy in the UK, particularly community philanthropy, and raising the profile of the community foundation movement as an effective way to engage people in rewarding giving.

Peter Hugh-Smith

Peter Hugh-Smith has responsibility for Russell’s distribution relationships within the UK and Ireland. Peter originally joined Russell in 1997 as a client service associate and was promoted to his current role in 2006. Based in London, Peter provides strategic advice and support to Russell’s existing fund partners such as Lloyds’s Wealth Management and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. In addition Peter is in charge of developing Russell’s services and products for the UK Independent Financial Advisors (IFA) market.

Prior to joining Russell, Peter worked in Hong Kong for three years with Seapower Asset Management, a large retail broker. He was responsible for managing the company’s investments in South Korea and researching other Asian markets. Peter established the company’s first authorised mutual fund, the Seapower Asian Smaller Companies Fund, and also developed a marketing strategy for institutional and retail product distribution in Hong Kong and Asia.

Peter began his investment career in London in 1991 as an analyst and fund manager with Capel-Cure Myers Capital Management.

Sarah Sands

Sarah Sands is Editor in Chief of British Reader's Digest.

Sarah grew up in Malawi and then Tunbridge Wells. She started her career as a reporter on the Kent and Sussex Courier. She then joined the Evening Standard, becoming diary editor, features editor and associate editor. She became appointed at the Daily Telegraph as deputy editor, under Charles Moore where she was later given additional responsibility as Saturday editor and went on to become appointed editor of the Sunday Telegraph.

Sarah was the consultant editor at the Daily Mail until May this year, when she was made editor in chief of Reader's Digest.

Sarah is married with three children and lives in London.

Amanda Tincknell

Amanda is the Chief Executive of the Cranfield Trust.

Amanda's introduction to the Trust was as a volunteer and then as a member of the Trustee Board. Moving to an employed post as Project Manager, in 2000 she was appointed Chief Executive.

Since then Amanda has led the Trust on a programme of growth and sustainability which has seen the Trust develop its services to become one of the UK's leading providers of free management consultancy to the voluntary sector. Amanda is an MBA alumna of Cranfield School of Management.