Non-Trustee Committee Members

As part of our governance structure we have a number of non-Trustee committee members who bring a wide range of experience and skills to our Committees.

John Armah

Appointed 2021. John is a Non-Trustee Member of the Fundraising and Marketing Committee. John has over 20 years broad and varied experience in Innovation, Strategy and Digital Transformation as an Executive, Entrepreneur and Adviser across Europe, North America and Asia. He specialises in devising strategies and implementing programmes that engage and acquire audiences and transform culture, customer experience and revenue streams.

Most recently he served as Chief Client Officer at Konekt Group, the innovation strategy, technology and transformation firm. He was launch COO of culture streaming service, Marquee TV and as an entrepreneur, director of an award-winning social content firm and Europe's first facebook marketing technology group, devising world first-innovations. He is a former executive at the Financial Times (FT.com) and NBC Universal. He currently sits on the boards of the Almeida Theatre and The Big Draw.

Liesl Elder

Appointed 2023. Liesl is the Chief Development Officer at the University of Oxford, overseeing philanthropic fundraising for the University across the academic divisions, museums and libraries. Her teams work worldwide, including the University's offices in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Liesl serves as one of the University's lead fundraisers, working directly with philanthropists on transformational projects such as Reuben College and the INEOS Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance. Liesl managed the Oxford Thinking Campaign, which concluded in 2019 having raised £3.34 billion for Oxford and its colleges. Liesl came to Oxford in 2011, having previously worked for the University of Edinburgh, Durham University, and liberal arts colleges in the USA.

Philippa Kramer

Appointed 2025. Philippa is a Non-Trustee member of the People and Remuneration Committee. She is an HR executive and non-executive director with over 30 years of experience across science, industrial engineering, defence, banking, and IT consultancy. With a degree in Economics and International Relations and MCIPD qualification, she most recently served as Group HR Director for a European defence enterprise, where she led HR in a complex joint venture during significant growth.

Philippa strongly supports youth development, having served as a Trustee for the Outward Bound Trust, where she contributed to the Nominations and Remuneration Committee and supported leadership in organisational design, development, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Throughout her career, Philippa has led organisational transformations, talent development and culture and values alignment. Now transitioning in her career, she is focused on supporting Cancer Research UK’s transformational journey, bringing her HR and governance expertise to deliver meaningful impact.

Teye Mkushi

Appointed 2022. Teye is a Non-Trustee Member of the Finance Committee. Teye is an experienced Finance Director with over 15 years of experience. Teye is known for being authentic and energetic. She enjoys translating strategy to action with a view to maximising returns and positive impact. Teye started her career at EY, where she gained experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Valuations and Transaction Due Diligence.

Teye has worked at Diageo in a range of senior finance roles including Group Financial Planning and Analysis Director, Guinness Ghana Finance Director and most recently Global Finance ESG and Sustainability Director. Teye is a Chartered Accountant with a Master’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Judy Parfitt

Appointed 2025. Judy has over 30 years’ experience as an HR professional. She is currently the Chief People Officer at Vitality, named by the Sunday Times this year as a top 10 large employer. Vitality has health and life insurance business in the UK and a presence in 39 other markets globally.

Before joining Vitality in 2017, Judy was an Executive Director at EY for over four years. She has held other executive positions in the car manufacturing and public sectors and played a key role in the transformation of the South African Revenue Service after the first democratic elections in that country.

Judy has Masters’ degrees from Ashridge and the University of Warwick. She has also worked as a journalist, university lecturer and mediator.

Janet Ryan

Appointed 2023. Janet is a Non-Trustee Member of the Audit Committee. She is a qualified accountant with broad international experience working for global chemical and food processing businesses. She has held roles in finance, business leadership and strategy and has led a number of business transformations. Originally from the North West of England she has also lived in Asia, USA, Latin America, and Belgium. Her most recent role was CFO for AB Sugar, a £2bn turnover business, during a period of rapid upheaval in the sugar markets.

She has been Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for Illovo Africa, a Director of Cabot’s office of compliance and a Director of Cabot’s charitable foundation. She is currently a ‘Women of Influence’ mentor for Cancer Research UK and a mentor for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Jazz Thind

Appointed 2023. Jazz is a Non-Trustee Member of the Audit Committee. She is a qualified accountant and joined the NHS in 1993 in a junior finance role. Since then, Jazz has taken up a number of NHS leadership roles covering the breadth of the finance function across both NHS provider and commissioning organisations. 

Post-graduation and prior to joining the NHS, Jazz worked in retail and (as was then) Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise. Jazz was first appointed as a Director of Finance in 2016 and is a currently the Chief Financial Officer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, a post she has held since January 2020. 