Board of Directors
Meet the Board of Directors
The directors of The Phone Co-op are elected by members.
Meet the directors:
- Linda Ward (Chair).
- Justin Andersen (Vice Chair)
- Matt Arrowsmith.
- Richard Cox.
- Rob Denbeigh
- Mick Taylor
- Shelagh Young
The term of office for directors is three years. Each year two or three directors reach the end of their terms of office.
Members are invited to nominate candidates for the board (members may nominate themselves or another person). Nominations can be for existing directors reaching the end of their terms, or for other members, and if there are more candidates than vacancies, a postal ballot is held.
To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must have been a member for six months. Full details are available in the Society's Rules.
Duties of a Director
The duties of a director include:
- Attending board meetings, which are usually held monthly by telephone conference.
- Additional work carried out between board meetings.
- Attending General Meetings.
- Attending face to face board meetings (in the last year there have been 5 meetings, one of which took place over the same weekend as the AGM).
Directors' Remuneration
Board members receive a fee of £1200 per annum (£1800 for the Chair, £1500 for the Vice-Chair). Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed, as agreed by the board from time to time.
2013 Elections
The term of office of two of the seven serving directors of The Phone Co-op came to an end at the AGM in February 2013. Elections for their successors were held and the ballots were counted on 15 January. Mick Taylor and Robert Denbeigh were both elected to serve for three years.
Read our elections page for more details.
Your elected board
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Linda Ward (Chair)
I will do my utmost to promote the Phone Co-op and facilitate its continued growth, and will always ensure that the views of the key stakeholders are listened to and acted upon.
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Justin Andersen (Vice Chair)
During my time on the Board I have taken a lead role on staff development issues, governance and on building links with the wider co-operative movement.
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Matt Arrowsmith
As a fresh Business & Finance graduate I was keen to start my career, and keener still for that career not to be in "the City". Joining Poptel in Manchester (later acquired by the Phone Co-op) I learned much about the co-operative difference; and the internet industry.
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Richard Cox
My background is in network engineering and industry regulation but I am perhaps better known for pro-bono work in protecting consumers, uncovering technical frauds and scams, and providing consumer advice on BBC and ITV programs such as "Watchdog" and "You and Yours".
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Rob Denbeigh
A growing Phone Co-op benefits all members with lower call costs, bigger dividends and more muscle to invest in other co-operatives.
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Mick Taylor
I'm totally committed to organisations that trade ethically. I want to contribute to the development of The Phone Co-op as an organisation that rewards and empowers its staff and management, that applies its ethical principles rigorously, that retains democratic accountability at its core, but is also successful in business terms
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Shelagh Young
I stood for election to the Phone Co-op board because the organisation takes sustainability seriously. It seems to me that the principles of co-operative working need to be modelled successfully now more than ever. It is very exciting to be able to help take The Phone Co-op forward in these challenging economic times.