Meet the Team

  • Gary Stannett

    CEO

    Gary is a senior professional with extensive experience of developing and leading multi-million pound international charities and working with partners from the corporate, statutory and policy sectors since 1997. A qualified youth worker and sports coach, Gary received an MBE for services to young people in 2009 and took over as CEO in 2019.

  • Rhiannon Watts

    Director of Development

    Rhiannon has worked across the youth, sustainability, advocacy and international development sectors. Now our Director of Operations, Rhiannon works with the CEO to implement our strategy and is responsible for overseeing our operations, finances, fundraising and communications, as well as managing key stakeholder relationships.

  • Donald Forde

    Director of Operations

    Donald joined us in 2023, with significant experience, spending the last decade in several leadership roles within football, including Deputy CEO at the Crystal Palace’s Palace for Life and Senior Operations Manager for Arsenal FC's much respected Community Department, while also supporting the Premier League's Charitable Fund on a national project.

  • Ben Drew

    Consultant Director of Education and Opportunities

    Bio coming soon.

  • Victoria Lowe

    North West Programme Lead

    Victoria joined us in 2014 as a Programme Coordinator. She has a Masters in Art and Design and a background in youth empowerment and community initiatives across Greater Manchester. Now our Head of Programmes North West, Victoria manages all delivery and stakeholder reporting across a range of programmes in the North West.

  • Ryan Hunt

    Lead Youth Worker Greater Manchester

    Ryan joined the foundation in 2020 and is our Lead Youth Worker for the Northwest. He has a degree in Radio and Digital Media and has hosted Radio Shows for Reform Radio alongside his Youth Work career with Salford Council. Ryan has also coached grass roots football for 9 years as a volunteer and is passionate about giving young people access to opportunities.

  • Nadeem Din-Gabisi

    Youth Work Lead for Creative & Digital

    South London born and raised; Nadeem has many years of experience working with young people as a youth and play worker across London. Nadeem is passionate about the arts and how they can be used to inspire young people to pursue creative pathways and enhance their understanding of the world in and round them.

    Nadeem has a master’s degree in fine art and works as an artist across multiple disciplines, including film, music, visual art, and poetry.

Our Leadership Board

The Rio Ferdinand Foundation is governed by our Board of Trustees. The Board meets quarterly and is responsible for setting our strategic direction, as well as for our overall governance.

New trustees are chosen in consultation with the full Board, making sure that, collectively, the Board has the skills and experience needed to support the foundations goals and our ambitions for the future.

Meet the board and find out what inspires them to support the Rio Ferdinand Foundation

  • Founder

    Rio, our Founder and Patron, continues to sit as a trustee for the Foundation, and acts as an advocate in the sports and media fields in which he works. Rio also supports the Foundation in building relationships with corporate companies to build resources, opportunities and connectivity for the charity and the young people we work with.

  • Chair

    Binnie has a strong background in charity leadership and has been a member of the board of trustees since 2014. An experienced sports and youth work practitioner, Binnie worked at a senior level in Lambeth Council before taking on a role leading the Community Olympic Legacy programme at Hackney Council during the London 2012 Olympics.

  • Treasurer

    John is a Chartered Accountant, working on public and private sector projects, primarily in the construction, utilities and technology sectors. With a keen interest in sport and youth development, John was on the Manchester Commonwealth Games Legacy Board and sat on a London 2012 Olympic Legacy Board for the building of community facilities

  • Trustee

    Jim, a Governance and Legal professional, has over 35 years’ experience of higher education. A qualified arbitrator from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Accredited Mediators by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, he is currently University Secretary at the University of East London, having held similar positions at Brunel University and the three Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, and also provides private governance, legal and dispute resolution services to several universities. He has also carried out relief work in Africa through charities and several universities.

  • Trustee

    Russell has held several senior posts involving managing and accounting for large change programmes with revenue and capital budgets of £100m+. As Southwark’s Head of Community Involvement and Social Renewal, Russell was involved in the regeneration of Peckham and was awarded an MBE in 2009 for his services to the community