Governance

Our Chairman: Admiral the Lord Boyce KG GCB OBE DL

​Lord Boyce joined the Royal Navy in 1961. He commanded three submarines and the Submarine Sea Training Squadron and was also an anti-submarine warfare specialist.  He commanded the frigate HMS Brilliant, was Director of the Naval Staff and Senior Naval Officer Middle East. 

He was promoted to the Flag List in 1991 and was subsequently Flag Officer Sea Training, Flag Officer Surface Flotilla, Commander in Chief Naval Home Command and Second Sea Lord and Commander in Chief Fleet. 

During this period, he was knighted and also held a variety of senior NATO commands. He became First Sea Lord in 1998 and Chief of Defence Staff at the beginning of 2001, retiring in May 2003.  He was elevated to the peerage in June 2003. 

Lord Boyce was appointed Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle in 2004; Bath King of Arms in 2009 and a Knight of the Garter in 2011.

He is a keen sportsman, a Freeman of the City of London, an Elder Brother of Trinity House and a Knight of St John and is involved with a number of charities, organisations and associations, including being President of St John Ambulance (London District), a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum, and Colonel Commandant of the Special Boat Service.

Deputy Chairman: Ronald Neil CBE

​Ronald Neil, a retired Chief Executive of BBC Production and former Director of BBC News and Current Affairs, was the editor of That’s Life, a weekly consumer affairs programme, and Newsnight during the time of the Falklands War. He also set up and edited Europe’s first breakfast television programme, Breakfast Time.

As a trainee BBC journalist in the north of Scotland, he was sent to cover the Longhope lifeboat disaster in 1969, and he has been involved with the RNLI ever since. Ron has also provided support to the RNLI’s Annual Presentation of Awards event at by providing the voiceover for the Review of the Year film. He has served as a member of the RNLI’s Council since 1990 and has been Chairman of the Fundraising and Communications Committee since 2003.

Ron and his wife Isobel live in Surrey.

Deputy Chairman: Sir Andrew Cubie CBE FRSE

​​Sir Andrew Cubie is a Consultant to the law firm Fyfe Ireland WS. He has also been Chairman and Senior Partner of that firm, having specialised in corporate law. 

Engaged in education issues throughout his professional career, he has been Chairman of Governance of George Watson’s College and is currently Chairman of the Court of Napier University and of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. 

He has held, and still holds, numerous non-executive positions. As former Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, he was a member of the McIntosh Commission, which made recommendations for the reform of local government and working arrangements of the Scottish Parliament. 

He was Convenor of the Independent Committee of the Inquiry into Student Finance (the Cubie Committee), which brought about the abolition of tuition fees in Scotland.  He is a Trustee of British Council, VSO and the Calyx garden.

Andrew has been a member of the RNLI’s Council since 1989 and was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Fundraising and Communications Committee in 1994. He was appointed Vice Convenor of the Scottish Lifeboat Council in 1996 and Chairman in 2003. 

Andrew enjoys theatre, reading and sailing. He and his wife Heather live in Edinburgh and have three children.

Deputy Chairman: Vicky Wright BSc MSc CCCIPD

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Vicky became Director of Consulting Services at Towers Watson in 2010. Previously, she was at Watson Wyatt from June 2005, a partner at Ernst & Young and Managing Director of the Hay Group.

Vicky has spent 20 years as a management consultant in the human resources and change management field, underpinned by 14 years in professional human resource management.

She is a visiting Professor at the University of Middlesex and was President of the UK Management Consultancies Association in 1998. She is currently President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Vice Chairman: Charles Hunter-Pease

Born in Yorkshire, Charles spent most of his early years in Greenock, which kindled a lifelong passion for sailing, initially on the Clyde and up the west coast of Scotland but now mostly on the south coast of England

He started his career as an apprentice accountant but a management trainee position led him south and abroad with AVIS Rent-a-Car. After a spell with Continental Oil, he joined Volvo Concessionaires in 1973 as a Business Consultant to the Scottish dealers. He became a Regional Manager in the North of England and subsequently the Midlands, followed by Field Operations Manager, Dealer Operations Director and then 3 years as Sales and Marketing Director.

He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive on 1 April 1990 and Managing Director 2 years later when the business was acquired by the manufacturer. He became a Senior Vice President of Volvo Car Corporation in Gothenburg in 1993 and Chairman of a number of Volvo subsidiaries including Volvo Car Ireland. From 1999–2007 he acted as the Senior Adviser to the Management Team of Volvo Car Corporation with a roving brief as an internal Management Consultant.

Charles has been a member of the RNLI Council since 1996. He has served on various RNLI Committees over a 20-year period, including Fundraising, Remuneration, Membership Nomination and Property.  He has been a Non-Executive Director of the RNLI Sales Company, Chairman of the Resources Committee, Chairman of the RNLI Pension Scheme and was a member of the Trustee Committee, stepping down in 2008 on completion of a 10-year term. He rejoined as a Trustee in July 2009 and chairs the Lean Board, which oversees the RNLI’s Continuous Improvement Programme.

Charles and his wife Susan have two children and live in Oxfordshire.

Treasurer: Sir Alan Reid GCVO

Sir Alan is Keeper of the Privy Purse, Treasurer to the Queen and Receiver General of the Duchy of Lancaster, a Trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, Chairman of the Royal Collection Enterprises, Deputy Chairman of the Historic Royal Palaces, Governor and Treasurer of the King Edward VII Hospital Sister Agnes and a Trustee of the Foundation of St George’s.

In his career, Sir Alan was Chief Operating Officer at KPMG UK Global, European and UK Chief Financial Officer at KPMG Global and European and UK Chairman at KPMG Management Consulting.

Mark Byford

Mark is a former Broadcasting Executive. He was Deputy Director-General of the BBC and Head of BBC Journalism from 2004–11. Mark is an award-winning journalist and editor with 30 years’ experience within the BBC. He joined the BBC’s Board of Management in 1996 as Director, Regional Broadcasting. Two years later he became Director of the BBC World Service and went on to establish the BBC’s Global News Division.
 
Under his leadership at that time, BBC World Service achieved its highest audience ever of more than 150M listeners and won prestigious Sony and Webby awards. In January 2004 he became Deputy Director-General of the BBC – but within 3 weeks of his appointment, Greg Dyke resigned as Director-General, following the publication of the Hutton Report. Mark Byford became Acting Director-General for 5 months. With no substantive Chairman and Director-General, he had to stabilise the organisation as it faced the biggest crisis in its history.

Born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, he was educated at Lincoln School before studying Law at the University of Leeds. He is married to Hilary and they have five children. His hobbies include family life, sport and rock music. He supports Leeds United football team and has a well-known reputation for an encyclopaedic knowledge of rock and pop music, especially regarding The Beatles.​

John Coyle MEconSc

​John is President of Galway Lifeboat Station and is a member of the Fundraising and Communications Committee. He is a businessman with interests in Ireland and the UK, and is a Commissioner of Irish Lights. 

His volunteer activities have included Presidency of Galway Chamber of Commerce and of Chambers Ireland, and Vice-Presidency of Eurochambres. He has also chaired the Galway Race Committee, Galway Airport and Galway Harbour Commissioners. 

Married to Sally, they have six children and four grandchildren. His leisure interests include sailing, horse racing and angling.

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence KCVO CB ADC(P)

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Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence is currently pursuing a second career in property and business consultancy. He is Chairman of Dorchester Regeneration, Non-Executive Director of Capita Symonds and Senior Military Advisor to PA Consulting. He is a member of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is a Commissioner for English Heritage.

His 37-year career in the Royal Navy included a series of navigation and warfare appointments and four warship commands. His final post was as Chief Executive of Defence Estates, where he was responsible for managing most Defence land and buildings in the UK and overseas. 

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence joined the RNLI Council in 2004 and became a Trustee in 2011, when he also joined the Operations Committee. He was appointed Chairman of the Operations Committee in 2012.

Sir Roger Vickers KCVO

​Sir Roger was educated at Winchester College, Magdalen College Oxford and St Thomas’ Hospital. He has been Orthopaedic Surgeon to HM The Queen since 1992, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at St George’s Hospital (since 1980) and King Edward VII Hospital for Officers (since 1992), and Civilian Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon to the British Army since 1992. 

He joined the RNLI's Medical and Survival Sub-Committee in 1992 and was Deputy Chairman from 1999 until 2006, when he was appointed Chairman. 

He is a member of the Hurlingham Club, Hayling Island Sailing Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron. 

Sir Roger is married to Joanna and has two sons and two daughters.

Malcolm Vincent BSc (Hons) MSc CEng FIMarEST

​Malcolm is a Chartered Marine Engineer and former Managing Director of P&O Three Quays Marine Services Ltd. 

Recently retired from British Telecommunications plc Global Services, he was responsible for the development of integrated financing solutions for major customers. He is Vice President, Member of the Council and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and Trustee of the Institute's Pension Fund. He is a Freeman of the City of London and an Assistant of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Engineers. 

Malcolm was elected as a member of the RNLI Council in 2005. He has served on the Technical Committee since 1999 and became its Chairman in 2007. He and his wife Linda live in London and have two adult sons.

Chief Executive

Paul Boissier

After graduating in Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University, Paul joined the Royal Navy, specialising in navigation. He served in and then commanded a variety of submarines, before moving to the surface fleet as Captain of an anti-submarine frigate.

At Portsmouth Naval Base, he was responsible for repairing and accommodating most of the Navy’s ships. As Chief Executive of the Naval Support Organisation in Bristol, he worked closely with a variety of industrial partners and managed the three naval dockyards. Paul spent his last 2½ years in the Royal Navy as Chief Operating Officer, integrating HR, support, training, logistics and procurement.

Paul has sailed extensively with his wife Susie in their boat Snow Goose. He has also written a book on the maritime rules of the road, and for 3 years was Commodore of the Royal Naval Sailing Association. He is a Younger Brother of Trinity House. Away from the sea, he enjoys travel, gardening, writing and bread making.

Engineering and Supply Director

David Brook

OBE BSc MA CEng MRAeS FIMarEST

David was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1982 and earned an honours degree in Air Transport Engineering at the City University. He later achieved a Masters degree in Defence Studies from Kings College, London University.

His early appointments were on a front-line Tornado air defence fighter station and his career then developed through a variety of tours, including working with Tucano training aircraft, procurement of future offensive air systems, and RAF engineering and quality management policy.

Much of David’s recent experience was with Chinook helicopters, firstly as the Senior Engineering Officer on the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing and latterly commanding RAF Odiham’s Engineering and Supply Wing, where he was responsible for the provision of serviceable aircraft, engineering and supply manpower and logistic support to RAF Chinook and Army Lynx operations in the UK, Iraq and Afghanistan. He served on operations in the Middle East during the 1990–91 Gulf War and in Sierra Leone in 2000.

He is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Graduate of the Joint Services Command and Staff College.

David joined the RNLI as Engineering and Supply Director in June 2007 and is responsible for almost 400 staff who design, build, refit and repair the Institution’s fleet of more than 500 lifeboats, supply all their spares and equipment and provide a similar service to RNLI Lifeguards.

David lists his interests as clay target shooting, cricket and watching rugby. He is married to Angela, and they have a son and a daughter.

Fundraising and Communications Director

James Vaughan 

James joined the RNLI after many years in the advertising industry developing brands as diverse as Gordon’s Gin and the Atomic Energy Authority.

On joining the RNLI in 1998 he worked in Fundraising and Communications across a variety of marketing-focused roles. But in 2008 he was appointed Corporate Services Director and continued the diverse theme of his career with a business support portfolio including Estate Management, Governance, Legal, Continuous Improvement, Business Planning and the RNLI's evolving International Strategy. 

In 2011 James moved back into Fundraising and Communications as the team's Director. He has since overseen a substantial restructure to ensure the funding engine of the RNLI is fit for purpose and capable of delivering the income required by the RNLI’s 20-year strategic plan.

Born in north London, James is married to Sara and they live in north Dorset with their two teenage sons. A keen sailor and smallholder, he balances the competing demands of family life, work, animal husbandry and, whenever possible, some sailing!

Finance Director

Alan Pardon

​After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in London, Alan gained a wide range of experience working with a number of global engineering organisations in senior corporate and operational financial roles. These included Schlumberger, the leading oilfield services provider, GKN/Westland, the helicopter and aerospace group, and more recently as Group Finance Director of the Hamworthy Combustion Group.

He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and The Chartered Management Institute. Alan and his wife Heather have two daughters and two sons and live in west Dorset. His interests include enjoying family life, watching most sports, keeping fit, music and the theatre.

Director of People

​Ali Peck
MA MSc CFCIPD

Throughout her life, Ali says she has always been drawn to organisations concerned with public service and humanity.

Ali joined the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) back in 1998 and says it is one of the most inspiring places she has ever worked.

Prior to this she worked briefly in the education sector, followed by several years in the NHS as an Accident and Emergency Manager.

Ali is Director of People at the RNLI – a wide remit that covers all aspects of human resource management for the organisation’s volunteer and staff workforce, along with training and oversight of RNLI College in Poole. She has been a Director since 2004.

Holding postgraduate qualifications in human resource management and occupational psychology, Ali has a fascination with workplace behaviours, the psychological contract and the impact of inspirational leadership on people.

Operations Director

Michael Vlasto​

Michael is a Master Mariner who joined the RNLI as a Lifeboat Inspector in 1975 after service in the Merchant Navy as a Deck Officer. He served initially as Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats in Scotland and then Wales between 1976 and 1990.

In 1990, he became Staff Officer Operations (Training), controlling all operational training for lifeboat crews and station personnel.

In 1994, he was appointed to the newly created position of Sea Safety Liaison Officer, where he established and managed the Sea Safety Initiative.

Promoted to Chief of Operations in 1997 (the title changed to Operations Director in January 2001), he has operational responsibility for both the lifeboat and lifeguard services. This involves more than 400 full-time staff and 5,000 volunteer crew members and lifeguards and supports more than 230 lifeboat stations and 160 lifeguard units throughout the UK and the RoI.

He is Chairman of the National Water Safety Forum and the UKSAR Maritime and Aviation Consultative Committee. He is a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a Livery member of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners and the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights, a Freeman of the City of London, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and a Fellow of the Nautical Institute.

In 2007, he became Chairman of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF), which represents lifeboat and SAR organisations around the world. The IMRF has Non-Governmental Consultative status at the IMO.

Michael is married with a son and a daughter and lives in Hampshire.

Business Support and Development Director

Angela Rook

Anjie joined the RNLI in December 1993 as Retail Operations Manager in Sales Company (part of Fundraising), transferring to Business Support (formerly known as Corporate Services) in December 2002 as Special Projects Manager.

She is now responsible for the RNLI's information systems and technology, the organisation-wide Continuous Improvement programme, and for the RNLI Governance Strategy and its delivery. 

Anjie is a Chartered Company Secretary and experienced Project / Programme Manager.   

She lives in Hamworthy with her husband Kevin.