Digital Trusteees with Su Crichton, Mark Dearnley and Freddie Quek

Why Every Charity Needs a Tech Committee

In the fast changing world of Technology, Digital and AI, having strong guidance and advice in your charity can make a huge difference to internal tech capability.

Today we talk with three amazing people - Su Crighton who is a trustee with Walk Wheel Cycle Trust as well as Charity IT Leaders, Freddie Quek who holds a number of trustee, advisory and non-exec roles including with the University of Bristol, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Wavelength and eLife, and Mark Dearnley who is a trustee at The King’s Trust. They all have high profile careers and day-jobs, but have chosen to volunteer their time as a digital trustee for a cause they are closely associated with and believe in.

We talk about what it is like to be a trustee, the skills they bring, and the interactions between the board and the internal team, and how that works. We talk about what you should consider if you are thinking of becoming a trustee.

We also discuss the benefits the charities/NFP gets from their trustees and committees, and hear a bit from Mark about the all-star Tech Committee at the Kings Trust- why have one Digital Trustee, when you could have six?

If you’re thinking of becoming a trustee or non-exec - then Freddie’s tip is to look into Board Apprenticeship programmes, which can help you hone your skills. And if you’re a charity CEO/Chair/CTO thinking of engaging a digital trustee or creating a Digital/Tech committee then listen through to the end of the podcast when I summarise my three steps to improving technology governance in your organisation.

Stay Tuned for more insights in future episodes

If you’re new to the podcast - then definitely take a look back at some cracking episodes in the previous two seasons. Whilst there is a storyline flowing through the episodes, they work in any order, so don’t feel obliged to listen to them chronologically.

If you like this newsletter and podcast, and want it to stay free, please do consider reposting it on LinkedIn - we love watching our audience grow. Also do get in touch if you want to get involved, or sponsor anything. You can also subscribe to the newsletter outside of LinkedIn by going to https://virtuechain.co.uk and scrolling down to the subscribe link at the bottom of the homepage.

If you’re keen for me to feature something going on in your charity, NFP or similar, please get in touch - and do comment on anything in here, or in the podcast that you like.

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About our host and guests

Su Crighton

Su is a technology leader with a talent for delivering effective digital transformation projects. She is a Partner in KPMG’s Technology Transformation Practice with over 20 years of consulting experience working across sectors, to harness technology to create and enhance business value. Su was CIO at Cancer Research UK for almost six years, so has in-depth knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing charities and not-for-profits. She is passionate about supporting the sector, and using her skills, experiences and contacts to deliver meaningful change. Su is also a trustee at Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.

Freddie Quek

Freddie is a Research Associate at Henley Business School (HBS), Tech Leader, NED and Advisor to AI startups across healthTech, fintech, edtech and envirotech. Previously he was CTO at Times Higher Education. He is recognised as one of the UK’s top IT leaders by CIO100 and Computing. He founded the #JoiningTheDots initiative to address digital inclusion becoming a Community Board member of the Digital Poverty Alliance and Chair of the BCS Digital Divide Specialist Group. Recently he co-founded The NextPath Device Consortium as a tech sector-driven initiative to solve one of the dots (devices at scale). He serves on the boards at University of Bristol, BCS Influence Board, eLife and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Freddie is a Fellow of BCS and judge for the UK IT Industry, IT Apprenticeship Awards, Women in IT Awards and CIO 100. He has a Masters degrees from the LSE and HBS, and is an alumnus of Oxford University.

Mark Dearnley

Mark joined The King’s Trust Council in September 2019. Mark joined Hays as Chief Digital and Technology Officer in August 2025. Prior to this role, Mark was CDO at Inchcape, a Partner with Bain & Company, and Chief Digital & Information Officer with HMRC. He has also held CIO positions in Vodafone UK, Premium Credit, Cable & Wireless, and Boots.com.

He has considerable experience in cyber-security, customer-facing digital solutions as well as delivery complex technology change across international operations.‘

Stuart McSkimming, Podcast Host

Stuart is a thought-leader in AI for charities and not-for-profits, and recognised in the 2025 AI100 list of the top 100 people shaping the future of AI in the UK. He is the founder of the sector-specific Technology & AI consultancy, Virtue Chain . He has over twenty years’ experience in NFP/Charity leadership roles, predominantly in the technology/digital and transformation space. He is an expert in getting the most from teams and focusing organisations on strategic goals to get the most from Technology & Digital. He is passionate about organisations focusing on inclusion and finding ways to attract a diverse mix of top talent into their teams. He has worked as a CIO for two organisations – Shelter and Royal British Legion, and also a variety of roles elsewhere. Stuart is extensively networked in the not-for-profit sector both in the UK, and internationally, and is the Vice Chair of top membership organisation, Charity IT Leaders. Stuart enjoys regular public speaking, and also has been known to do stand-up comedy gigs occasionally.

Virtue Chain builds the link between enthusiastic and talented technology teams, and organisation strategic goals. By focusing on people, strategy, governance and decision-making structures, Virtue Chain can help your charity get the right leadership approach across AI, Technology, Digital, Data, and transformation. We use maturity models, and partnering approaches to help trustees, CEO’s and exec leaders see the potential for technology in their organisation, and understand where to start in turning ideas into action.

Get in contact with [email protected] if you’d like to chat. Typically the conversation starts from either a trustee, CEO or CTO level.

In case its not obvious, views expressed are the personal views of the podcast host and guests and don’t necessarily represent those of any organisations they work with or for, either now or in the past.