This week marked Matt Horwood’s last day as Chair of the Board of Trustees for London Friend. Mubeen Ahmed, who joined the board in 2023, was this week voted by Matt and the wider board as our new Chair.
Matt has provided pivotal support since joining the board in 2018 and stepping up as Chair in 2021. This has included him leading the recruitment of a brand new board, helping to steer the development of London Friend’s new brand identity and working to bolster our communications efforts in particular when we celebrated our 50th birthday in 2022.
Matt said: “Being part of London Friend’s incredible work has been one of the best experiences of my professional life, and making the decision last year to move on was a very difficult one. I continue to be inspired by the work that Monty and his team deliver, particularly given the current climate for LGBTQ+ folks in London and beyond, and couldn’t think of a better force than Mubeen and our excellent Trustees to help steer that at board-level.”
Mubeen, a people and operations specialist currently working at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Children’s Charity, has already delivered superb support to the board, leading its recent strategy day and looking at developing the charity’s next organisational strategy document.
Mubeen said: “Stepping into the Chair role at London Friend is an absolute honour, succeeding the exceptional leadership from Matt. Whilst filling his shoes will be a challenge, I’m embracing this opportunity to serve our vibrant LGBTQ+ community alongside Monty and his brilliant team in the current climate. Together we’ll continue the important work of London Friend to create a welcoming and supportive wellbeing space for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Monty said: “Matt has brought tremendous energy to the role of Chair and it’s been a pleasure to work alongside him, particularly through our 50th birthday year. He’s helped us to become a more diverse organisation, reflected through our volunteers and service users, and to grow despite the challenges of Covid and a much-changed landscape for charities, as well as a challenging social climate for LGBTQ+ organisations. I’m excited to work with Mubeen, and he and our Board already have some great ideas to further develop how we support our staff, volunteers and our clients.”
London Friend will be looking to recruit a number of new Trustees, with a focus on communications, service provision and fundraising and/or finance backgrounds. Please keep a look out for further announcements on our social channels.
Learn more about our current Board of Trustees here.
