Board Of Trustees

Colin Douglas (Chair)

Colin is a self-employed strategic communications specialist with experience of running the biggest and most challenging public sector communications and marketing teams. His clients have included the Charity Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Government Commercial Function based in the Cabinet Office.

Before becoming self-employed in 2013, Colin was Director of Communications for the NHS and a member of the NHS Management Board. Before this, Colin was Director of Communications for the Health & Safety Executive from 2004 to 2008 and has held similar positions with the Audit Commission, Sport England and Transport for London.

Colin started his career in local government before spending five years with PR and public affairs consultancy.

He has written and lectured on modern black British history, particularly the West Indian contribution to the Second World War and the arrival of the Empire Windrush from the Caribbean in 1948.

Colin loves walking and photography and lives in Lewisham with his wife and two adult sons.

Councillor Robert Evans

Cllr. Robert Evans joined Mytime Active as a Trustee in September 2017.

Cllr. Evans spent eight years as a Councillor in the London Borough of Bromley, including the last three years as Portfolio Holder for Care Services. In Council, Cllr. Evans is a member of the Health and Well Being Board, Adoption Panel, Standing Committee for Special Educational Needs, Children’s Board as well as Children and Adult Safeguarding Boards.

Cllr. Evans’ career in education included deputy headships and a headship. Now retired, Cllr. Evans is a governor of Ravenswood School and a board member of Ravenswood Learning Trust, a governor of Bromley Pupil Referral Unit, a Member of Court of the University of Kent and of St Olave’s & St Saviour’s schools and a member (non-voting) of Bromley CCG.

Christopher Kettle

Chris joined Natwest Bank in 2005 and since then has held a number of customer facing and operational roles within the bank. This has enabled him to understand and identify a myriad of ways in which he and NatWest are able to support entrepreneurs who drive economic growth and support UK PLC.  

He has a real passion for supporting businesses to start and scale and over the years he has worked closely with the capital’s leading start-ups, entrepreneurs, SMEs and other organisations, that make up the vibrant and buoyant London Ecosystem.  Chris has always had a passion for supporting his customers through his knowledge, expertise, connectivity, and know-how, and brings with him experience of working with entrepreneurs from all sectors.

Outside of work Chris is a father of 2, enjoys playing numerous sports and gives back to the community through coaching, refereeing, playing and general board support at his local football club. He is also an NHS responder, Princess Trust Enterprise relief fund volunteer and Member of the TLA (tech London advocates).

Jack Shakespeare

Jack is currently the Executive Director at the membership body, ukactive, leading our Research, Policy and Communications teams. He supports our members and the wider sector in their mission to improve the health of their local communities.

With a degree in sports psychology, Jack started his career working with children and young people at Fit For Sport, before moving into policy positions at ukactive. Jack lives in Bromley and is a frequent customer as he brings up his triplet sons to be active.

Councillor Josh King

Josh King is a Councillor in the London Borough of Bromley and represents Clock House ward. He sits on the Mytime Active board as a nominee of Bromley Council. He was first elected into the council in May 2018.

Josh is an IT professional with over 25 years of experience in academia and commercial settings. More recently he has worked as a Senior Software Test Engineer ensuring that projects are delivered with quality in mind. He has experience using many test automation tools and on cloud replatforming projects.

Josh is keen to support healthy living and lifestyles within Bromley and has personal experience of improving his own lifestyle which has resulted in improved health.

Shelagh Kirkland

Shelagh is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years experience working in financial services currently in Power and Infrastructure Finance for Investec Bank PLC. Until 30th June 2022 she sat on the Board of SE London Clinical Commissioning Group (“CCG”) where she was Deputy Chair and Conflicts of Interest Guardian. She was the Audit Chair and chaired the Governance and Performance Committee for the CCG. Shelagh also has other NED and Audit Committee appointments and is the Audit Chair for Mytime Active. She brings to the board her breadth of knowledge in finance and accounting, as well as governance and audit.

Shelagh volunteers for the Royal Society for Blind Children on their Sports without limits initiative. She is a keen golfer and has been scorer and marshall at a number of Professional Golf events and as a volunteer at many large sporting events in London.  

James Nickson

James is an IDM qualified, Board level marketer and executive with international experience and specialism in growing businesses, consumer innovation and digital transformation. With leadership roles previously at O2, Which?, Regus and Carphone Warehouse. Most recently James led a digital community start-up, as CEO. James has worked across 8 different industry sectors in an executive capacity, including previously in golf, health and fitness, as Commercial Director at The Club Company.

James lives in Bromley with his wife and three children and is a regular visitor of The Pavilion. Occasionally James can be seen hitting some rather wayward shots on our local golf courses!

Mark Crichton

Mark is currently Product Director at Tide Bank. He is a specialist in Identity, Authentication, and Fraud Detection software solutions, and has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry. Mark’s specialism is using innovative technology to improve user experiences – and ultimately help businesses meet their objectives. He brings to the board a strong focus on customer needs and driving solutions that maximise engagement and impact.

Mark has led teams around the world for technology firms such as Outseer, RSA, EMC and OneSpan. He is the co-author of four patents for an Authentication technology, and more recently graduated from Warwick University with an MBA.

A squash player from a young age, Mark plays for two squash teams in Kent, as well as competing in local solo leagues. He plays racketball, golf and padel regularly, and he and his wife enjoy walking and skiing together. Mark is incredibly passionate about the impact that sport can have on your confidence, social connections and overall wellbeing.

Caroline Briggs

Caroline is an experienced in-house solicitor working at NatWest with a focus on Financial Crime and Data Protection.   Caroline has worked on many data sharing initiatives across public and private organisations with the intention of detecting, disrupting and preventing financial crime, and has led legal working group meetings as part of these initiatives.  Prior to working at NatWest, Caroline has worked in commercial legal roles within companies across different sectors including hospitality, pensions and psychometric testing.  

She is passionate about customer focused outcomes.  She uses her legal knowledge to prioritise delivering high standards combined with good value to customers.  

Caroline and her family are at various Mytime Active swimming pools every week, and are often involved with other Mytime Active activities. 

Elizabeth Romano

Liz is a strategic communications and engagement leader with over 20 years’ experience across health, leisure and corporate sectors. She is currently Director of Communications & Participant Engagement at Richmond Pharmacology, where she leads public-facing strategy, engagement programmes and organisational communications.

Liz previously worked at Mytime Active as Marketing Manager and brings strong local understanding, alongside expertise in behaviour-change communications, digital engagement and sustainability. She is also a Lay Plus member of the Health Research Authority’s Research Ethics Committee, contributing governance insight and ethical oversight experience.

Liz is passionate about inclusive wellbeing services and is committed to helping Mytime Active remain accessible, community-led and impactful.

Annie Hodlen

Annie is the Strategic Health Lead in the Active Partnerships National Organisation supporting Active Partnerships across the country to strategically embed physical activity as a whole systems approach into Health and Social Care systems across England.  This includes working with, and influencing national organisations and key partners, to improve healthcare provision for those with long-term health conditions and chronic disease.

Annie has extensive experience of the Healthcare sector at National and European level, including managing various community health services and multi-disciplinary teams.  She also held a 2-year position working as the Executive Director of Ireland’s National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health.

As a qualified teacher and lecturer, Annie has substantive academic experience and continues to be an Assessor and Course Director for the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) for health professionals and specialist exercise instructors. 

Annie is a local resident with a strong passion for exercise and is committed to promoting active, healthy living within Bromley communities.

Nigel Jordan

Before he retired, Nigel was a Whitehall civil servant, having worked for the Inland Revenue & HMRC for 33 years.  His more senior roles there included countering international tax avoidance,  leading international cooperation and finally managing the end-to-end delivery processes for tax credits and Child Benefit. Nigel subsequently established his own business management consultancy undertaking assignments to improve efficiency and devise workable legislation in specialist areas.

Nigel’s skill set includes policy development and strategic leadership, risk management and planning, problem solving and managing change, operational delivery and efficiency, accountancy and communications.

Nigel is a keen racket sports player – squash, racketball, tennis, padel & pickleball, as well as table tennis. Nigel has volunteered in grass roots tennis for most of his adult life but has also supported The Prince’s Trust and been a school governor.  Nigel was a member of the Board of the Lawn Tennis Association from January 2023 – December 2025.  Following 9 years as Treasurer, Nigel is currently Chair of Kent Tennis and a member of the Management Board at Bromley Tennis Centre.