Our Trustees

Fight for Sight is governed by a board of Trustees who meet at least four times a year to agree the strategy and areas of activity for the charity including consideration of grant-making, fundraising, investments, reserves, and risk management policies and performance. Certain Trustees sit on the Finance Committee which is a sub-committee of the Board. The Trustees are advised on research strategy by the Research Strategy Advisory Group, which includes certain Trustees of the charity.

Chairman: Mr Christopher Moore MA FCA*

Christopher Moore obtained a law degree and then qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse. After a first career in investment banking with Lazards and the Fleming Group, he set up his own business in 1995, concentrating mainly on strategic advice and private equity. He is currently on the board of four quoted venture funds and was previously Chairman of Oxonica Plc. His other interests include being a trustee of Bletchley Park Trust. He has been involved with Fight for Sight since the mid 1980s and is currently Chairman of the charity. 

Professor Desmond Archer OBE FRCS FRCOphth

Professor Desmond Archer is an Emeritus Professor at Queen’s University Belfast and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. His research interests include medical retina, with extensive publications relating to diabetic retinopathy, choroidal vascular disease, age-related macular degeneration and genetic eye disease. Desmond is the recipient of national and international lectureships including Sir Stuart Duke-Elder, Doyne and Bowman Lectures.

Mr Jonathan Brinsden

Jonathan Brinsden trained at Bircham Dyson Bell, qualifying as a solicitor in 2002 and becoming a partner in 2009. He specialises in advising charities on a wide variety of commercial and constitutional issues. He has considerable expertise in the specialised area of NHS charity regulation and has worked with charities of all shapes and sizes in improving their governance systems and developing their legal frameworks. Jonathan is a member of the Charity Law Association, trustee of a number of charities and frequent contributor to charities media debates.

Mr Neil Cox FCOptom FAAO

Neil Cox is Senior Optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and King's College Hospital, London. His work is devoted entirely to contact lenses with specific interest in medical applications. He was formerly a trustee of the International Glaucoma Association. 

Professor Alistair Fielder FRCS FRCOphth**

Professor Alistair Fielder is Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology at City University, London and is Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at St Mary’s and Hillingdon Hospitals, London. His clinical and research interests are the developing visual system (including retinopathy of prematurity and amblyopia) and visual disability. Professor Fielder was the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Bowman Lecturer for 2006. He is a Trustee of Action for Blind People and LOOK Federation of Families with Visually Impaired Children. He is Fight for Sight's Senior Medical Adviser.

Mr John Hannaford*

John Hannaford is Managing Director, Investment Banking with Credit Suisse in London. He has worked at Credit Suisse since 2004, prior to which he was Managing Director, Investment Banking at HSBC also in London. John is a qualified chartered accountant.    

Mr Nigel Pantling

Nigel Pantling has been an independent strategic adviser to Chairmen and Chief Executives of public companies since 1997. Formerly he was a Corporate Finance Director at Schroders and at Hambros Bank, where he was Head of Corporate Finance. Nigel started his working life as an army officer and subsequently joined the Home Office working on criminal policy issues and was private secretary to the Home Secretary. He has had extensive involvement in the not-for-profit sector, where he has accumulated over fifty years’ combined experience as Director of seven organisations, twice as Chairman. Nigel remains Chairman of The Arvon Foundation and is a non-executive Director of One Housing Group.

Mr Mark Powell*

Mark Powell was involved in investment management for individuals and charities throughout his working life and latterly was Chairman of Rathbone Brothers Plc. He was for many years a Director of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers and its Chairman for six years. He is a Director of HG Capital Trust plc. He is a former member of the Takeover Panel, the Specialist Schools Trust and of REACH. His is a past Master of the Haberdashers’ Company and is the current Chairman of Governors of the Haberdashers' Aske's Schools at Elstree. He is a member of the Investment Committee of the Church of England Pension Fund and a trustee of the Stock Exchange Benevolent Fund.

Mr Alistair Rae

Alistair Rae qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and after three years with Deloittes, he joined Cazenove & Co in their corporate finance department. He became the CEO of their Asian business in 1989, based in Hong Kong, and then joined HSBC Investment Bank in 1996. In 2002, he joined Jarvis plc, becoming Finance Director in 2004 where he lead their financial restructuring and rescue. Since 2005, he has been CEO of Imagelinx plc. He has also been a non-executive Director and Chairman of other listed and unlisted companies in the UK and abroad.

Mrs Faanya Rose

Mrs Faanya Rose has been involved in financial management in the City of London since 1980. She was Group Treasurer of BAA plc for ten years and during that time was also specialist Financial Advisor to The London Ambulance Service. She joined the Council of The Iris Fund in 1999, became Vice-Chairman in 2002 and Chairman in 2004 when the name was changed to The British Eye Research Foundation. She was elected to the Board of The Explorers Club of New York in 1998 and was President from 2000 - 2002. Faanya was recipient of the 2002 medallion of honour from the New York Council of SARA (Society of American Registered Architects, USA) for excellence and outstanding service to the Community. She is currently grant award advisor of The Charles Lindbergh Foundation and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.  Faanya became President of Fight for Sight in May 2009.

Mr Tom Wiggin

Tom Wiggin has spent his career in investment banking. He is currently a Partner with Cheyne Capital Management and was previously Managing Director at Deutsche Bank in London. He joined the Council of the British Eye Research Foundation in January 2003 and was appointed Deputy Chairman in December 2004 prior to the merger with Fight for Sight in 2005. 

Professor Alan Wright FRCP FRSE FMedSci **

Professor Alan Wright is currently a Program Leader at the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh. He specialises in research into inherited retinal disorders and the genetics of complex traits. He sits on the medical advisory board of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society. 

* Member of Finance Committee
** Member of Research Strategy Advisory Group