Meet the Team

Find out about our Board of Directors and non-executive directors below, and their diverse areas of expertise that help to shape RISE.

Kuljit Sandhu is the Director’s Safeguarding lead. If you wish to contact us, email on boardofdirectors@risemutual.org

RISE Board of Directors

Kuljit Sandhu CEO

Kuljit is the CEO of RISE Mutual CIC. She was integral in developing the Company before its spin-out from the London Probation Trust, a statutory criminal justice agency. She has always maintained a belief that people, with right support, can make positive changes in their lives, and she was drawn to the probation service. She worked as a Probation Officer in Lambeth in the mid-1990’s and also took the opportunity to initiate a number of projects, one of which looked at the delivery of cognitive behavioural theory-based programmes. When this approach was fully adopted in London, Kuljit moved to more strategic and executive leadership positions, specialising in domestic abuse, diversity and equality issues, mentoring services and group work interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. As the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reform programme moved towards the establishment of diverse delivery of offender services, Kuljit became inspired to seize the opportunities this brought about to further develop the effectiveness of probation-based education and, as a result, formed RISE Mutual, a Community Interest Company. RISE won a substantial contract to deliver interventions on behalf of the London Community Rehabilitation Company, and overnight became the largest provider of offender programmes in Europe. Kuljit is building a brave and innovative organisation, passionate about developing and delivering new approaches to assist racialised and disadvantaged people with complex, human problems. Follow Kuljit on twitter at: @kuljitsandhu16

Clare King Director of Business Development & Innovation

After developing her early career in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, Clare began working for London Probation Trust (LPT). As a senior manager in the Business Development Unit, Clare gained extensive experience of new business development, contract and project management and supply chain development. She worked with partners across the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sectors to establish a consortium to reduce re-offending. In 2012, Clare became the Performance Improvement Manager for the Interventions Department of the LPT where she had responsibility for overseeing the performance of Domestic Abuse and Sex Offender programme teams. She developed and implemented strategies aimed at delivering excellence and oversaw the strategic direction of income generating commercial projects. Clare is a professional life and business coach as well as a Neuro Linguistic Programme practitioner.

Professor John Beckford Board Chair

Professor John Beckford PhD MMS FCybS FRSA FIET is Rise Mutual CIC Board Chair. John has spent more than 30 years working with Directors and senior managers to help them diagnose the business problems that they face and identify ways to improve their own performance. John is a partner in Beckford Consulting, Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering at University College London and in the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University and a Non-Executive Director of both Fusion21 Limited and Corehaus Limited (both social enterprises). He holds a PhD in Management Systems and Sciences from The University of Hull, is a Fellow of the Cybernetics Society, a Member of The Institute of Management Services, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. John is author of The Intelligent Organisation (2nd ed. Routledge, 2020) and The Intelligent Nation (Routledge, 2021) and Quality Management  (Routledge, 5th Edition, 2023) and numerous papers and articles. Consulting activities cover manufacturing and services in public, private and third-sector organisations.

Andy Champness Non Executive Director

Andy Champness’ day job is as a consultant specialising in governance and leadership. He is currently the interim Chief Executive of the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner. He recently worked as the Chief Executive of the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner and has substantial experience in the Criminal Justice sector. Andy specialises in transforming organisations and achieving through effective inter-agency working.  He has helped establish ground-breaking initiatives with third and public-sector providers in relation to areas of work as diverse as road safety, offender rehabilitation and victim support. Within policing, he has enabled police forces to work together in ever more complex environments to maintain and improve their performance with significantly reducing resources. He has extensive experience in collaborative working between public sector agencies. He also has considerable experience in developing and delivering training to specialists and to those with decision-making and governance responsibilities. Andy is married with three children. Andy is a Barrister, Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Elaine Knibbs Employee Director

Elaine spent the last 24 years working in the criminal justice system, starting her career in early 2000 where she worked in a prison delivering accredited behaviour change programmes. Elaine has since worked in the probation service in Devon & Cornwall and in London as well as in prisons delivering a variety of accredited and non-accredited programmes and therapeutic group interventions. Elaine has worked for RISE since it’s formation in 2015, delivering and developing early interventions. Elaine is the team leader for the criminal justice pillar and oversees the out of court resolution team and contracts delivered in partnership with police forces nationally. Elaine believes strongly in fairness and embracing peoples individualism, diverse needs, experiences and identity. Elaine also believes everybody should have the opportunity and support to make positive changes in their lives. Elaine is passionate not only about supporting the needs of the service users we work with but also, the needs of all RISE employees. Elaine wants to contribute to RISE’S aim of creating a safe and supportive working environment where everyone is seen as the individuals they are and are ‘seen’ ‘heard’ and valued for the unique view and experiences they bring. Elaine sees her Role as chair of the employee council as a positive way she can be involved and help us achieve this.

Anissa Pieterse Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)

Anissa Pieterse has spent her 23 year working career (to date) building experience as a Tax Consultant, first qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, whilst working in the tax department of Arthur Andersen/Deloitte, and now in-house for an infrastructure investment company. Anissa brings a wealth of financial expertise and experience of working across sectors and differing business areas. She has also advised on financial strategies and implications as companies have entered different stages of growth. As a mum to three school age children, Anissa has developed extraordinary organisational capabilities and these allow her to continue with voluntary roles in local schools and sporting organisations outside of her, now part-time, work responsibilities.

RISE Mutual CIC Director

Odile Slynn, Lady Slynn of Hadley Non Executive Director of RISE Mutual CIC

Odile Slynn, Lady Slynn of Hadley is a French-born British humanitarian, philanthropist and peeress, involved in several organisations advocating children’s rights and wildlife preservation. She is the founder and chairman of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI) and former chairman of the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA). She is the widow of Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley. Born in Paris, she moved to London in 1959, where she trained as a nurse at Hammersmith Hospital. She taught French at the University of Buckingham from 1980 until 2000. She has been a member of the Board of Visitors for HMP Grendon / Springhill; a member of the Parole Board (1988–1992) and chairman of its Awarding Committee from 1999. She has been Honorary Secretary to the British Moroccan Society since 1985.