Introducing our current Trustees
Our Trustees serve in a voluntary capacity. They act as guardians and we seek to represent a broad range of different backgrounds, areas of expertise and perspectives on the Board. Trustees are frequently leaders in their fields. They include experts in maritime history, and leaders in business.
Alexandra Bolitho (President)
Alexandra is the daughter of Rear Admiral Morgan Morgan Giles, and grand-daughter of the Teignmouth based yacht designer Francis Morgan Giles. By profession an interior designer, she has run her own business and has been responsible for the renovation and care of many properties, both historic and modern.
She supports several Cornish Charities, including as President of the West Cornwall NSPCC, and County Patron of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Alexandra has a large extended family, both in the UK and Australia. She is married to Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho (Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall), lives near Penzance and has three grown up children, twin daughters and a son.
Simon Sherrard (Chairman)
Simon started his career at Samuel Montagu & Co Ltd, merchant bankers, and after seven years moved to Jardine Matheson & Co Ltd where he worked in Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. In 1985 he joined the shipping company, Bibby Line Group Ltd, in Liverpool as Managing Director becoming non-executive Chairman in 2000.
He has also been Chairman of the Port of London Authority, Deputy Chairman of Lloyds Register and Chairman of A & P Group.
He is an Elder Brother of Trinity House, and the Vice President of the RNLI. In 2010 he was Prime Warden of The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and is a Freeman of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen.
Simon lives with his wife, Sara, on the north coast of Cornwall.
Rob Holmes (Chair, Audit and Finance Committee)
Rob is the Director of Finance, Audit and Risk (responsible for Finance, Legal and Compliance Services) at Falmouth University, having been the Director of Finance from 2016 and Deputy Director since 1998. During his time at Falmouth, he has been involved with finances across the institution from the early days of European funding and the acquisition of the Penryn campus, the establishment of the joint venture, Falmouth Exeter Plus, and the merger with Dartington College of Arts.
Before working at the University, Rob ran the small business unit for a regional accountancy practice having trained both in practice and commerce; his first finance job being with the regional bus company.
Rob is a Chartered Certified Accountant and a member of the Chartered Management Institute and is a graduate of the General Management Programme with Cranfield University.
Sue Bradbury
Sue is a former Royal Navy officer whose last appointment in uniform included responsibility for all public relations and search and rescue communications activity at RNAS Culdrose. Seven years as a successful freelance journalist followed, with feature length articles on a variety of topics published in national newspapers and magazines.
After re-joining Culdrose during a three-year period as a government communications officer, Sue was appointed Head of Public Relations at the University of Plymouth. In that role, she chaired the Peninsula Medical School PR campaign group and played her part in establishing Cornwall’s first university campus at Tremough.
As well as launching her own PR consultancy business, SBPR Ltd, more than twenty years ago, Sue has authored five published books: The Story of Tremough, Secret Cornwall, Hidden Cornwall, Dog Walks Cornwall and Secret Devon.
She continues to write commissioned travel features whenever the opportunity arises and loves nothing better than spending time with her daughters and grandchildren.
Mike Carr
A qualified Naval Architect, Mike studied at Southampton University before joining Vosper Thornycroft in 1982. He later joined Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth in 1989 and went on to lead a Management buyout in 1994 with his friend and colleague Henk Wiekens. Over the last 30 years the pair oversaw the development and growth of the business from its early infancy to now being regarded as one of the worlds leading Superyacht companies.
As a significant local employer here in Falmouth, Pendennis also operates from its satellite bases in Norfolk and Vilanova in Spain, specialising the construction, restoration and refitting. Key to its success has been its acclaimed and nationally recognised apprenticeship programme
After 35 years Mike has recently retired as CEO but continues as Chairman of the Board. He is member of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights, he lists sailing, walking and running round after his grandchildren amongst his interests. Mike and his wife Jill live locally in Falmouth.
Peter Davies
Peter has previously been Vice Chair of the SW Regional Advisory Board of the National Trust and been chair of Trustees at the Hall for Cornwall, a non-executive Director and Chair of three NHS Trusts and was Director of Personnel and Chief Executive of Cornwall County Council retiring in 2002. Peter was appointed MBE in 2009 for services to the community in Cornwall and a former Vice Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.
Since serving as a Trustee for the Museum, Peter has held the role of Chair on two occasions.
Jo Esra
Dr Jo Esra is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, working as a literary scholar and cultural historian. Jo’s specialisms lie within the maritime humanities, with a particular focus on Cornwall and its maritime history. She is currently the guest curator at the NMMC for the next major exhibition on historical maritime Cornwall.
Jo’s research is firmly placed within interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary frameworks, engaging with all forms of maritime cultural representation and practice. Jo has a monograph-in-progress for Boydell and Brewer, a maritime cultural history, mapping the impact of North African (Islamic) piracy and captive-taking on the West Country c. 1600-1700. She has been involved with several media outlets sharing this area of research (BBC radio and TV: BBC World Service; Channel 4; Channel 5; National Geographic) as well as giving public talks and delivering academic papers. Piracy is also the subject of her forthcoming podcast series co-created with graduates, ‘Gangsters of the Sea’. Jo is also working on a book of Shakespeare’s maritime and voyaging language.
Originally from Grimsby, Jo has lived in Marazion for nearly 30 years. Prior to academia Jo worked within NHS young people’s mental health services, and her administrative duties at the University of Exeter are in the field of mental health and wellbeing.
Coralie Green
Coralie has worked in public service and the Voluntary/Charitable Sector for much of her career, including time at Citizens Advice in Ely, Cambridgeshire as a Trustee and Chairman, and in fundraising and event management at Ely Cathedral.
She was an elected District Councillor in East Cambridgeshire 2015-2019 where she held the portfolio for Strategic Planning.
Having moved to Cornwall in 2019, she is Vice Chair and serves on the Management Committee of the Children’s Sailing Trust, and a Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall.
Michael Griffiths
Michael was born and bred in the South West and has spent all his leisure time since the early 50’s sailing in the Helford River and western approaches. His father, who introduced Sir Francis Chichester to sailing, bought him a boat at the age of five.
During his working life, Michael was a solicitor acting for commercial clients until he developed a specialism in employment law in which field, he acted in a judicial capacity for 20 years. He moved to Falmouth with his wife a few years before his retirement and now spends his time in a number of voluntary posts together with as much sailing as possible with family and friends.
Sam Hunt
Sam Hunt was until recently Executive Director of the Association of Independent Museums and now works as a freelance museums consultant. Previously he was Chief Executive of the SW Museums Libraries and Archives Council, the regional development agency for museums in the South West, and the Chief Executive of the South West Museums Council.
He has been associated with a number of major projects in Cornwall and the South West and has a wide experience of museums and museum practice. As Head of Bath Museums, Sam was responsible for running the Roman Baths Museum, the Museum of Costume and City Marketing Unit. He has also played an important part in the development of this Museum.
Dame Shan Morgan DCMG
Shan lives and works in the South West – she is Chair of the Royal Devon NHS Trust and spends her spare time in Falmouth.
Her career has spanned a wide range of roles in the senior Civil Service and Diplomatic Service. She was HM Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay from 2008-2012, represented the UK in EU negotiations in Brussels, and headed the Civil Service of the Welsh Government in Cardiff from 2017-2021.
Awarded the DCMG in 2017 for services to European and international affairs, she is a member of the Advisory Board of Cambridge University’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
Ben Statham-Wilkins
As Young People Cornwall’s Head of Marketing, Ben drives impactful campaigns to support Cornwall’s youth. Through strategic branding and engaging communication, he amplifies the charity’s mission, driving community involvement and vital support.
Through his creative approach and strategic insight, Ben has played a pivotal role in driving increased community involvement and garnering vital support for Young People Cornwall’s initiatives. His dedication to making a meaningful impact has seen the organisation’s reach expand and its impact grow, creating positive change for young people across the region.
Simon Tregoning
After leaving University, where he studied Economics and Business Economics, Simon joined the Bank of England and gained experience in Management Accounting and Banking Supervision. In 1989, after five years at the Bank, he left to become a partner at Classic Cottages, a family company marketing holiday homes in the South West. Now Chairman, Classic Cottages have spread to cover the UK from Cornwall to Cape Wrath and from Norfolk to South Wales. Through growth and acquisition, they have added more brands under the Sapphire Holidays banner. The other agencies include Boutique Retreats, Aspects Holidays and Unique Hideaways plus Pure Management Services a property management company, taking the group portfolio to 2,500 properties and total staff of over 190 people.
Simon has chaired the Cornwall Commercial Tourism Federation, the Cornwall Association of Holiday Home Agencies and been a board member of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP. He is also a keen skier, a wannabe surfer and a wingfoiler!
