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Howard Bell

Operating Partner at Octopus; Chair

Howard Bell is the Chair of Fair for You Enterprise CIC, a position he has held since 2015.2 He is an experienced business leader with a strong background in scaling and accelerating growth for social impact and digital companies.1

Key points about Howard Bell:

  1. He serves as chair for FairforYou, a UK social enterprise organization, and for three UK digital scale-ups.1

  2. His operational career involved roles such as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Chief Product Officer (CPO) for various companies.12

  3. Notable achievements include:

    • Co-founding PayPal Europe and helping it grow to £200m in revenues2
    • Serving as CPO at Content Technologies, leading to a $1bn exit in 20012
    • Working as CCO at JustGiving, revitalizing it to help 10,000 charities raise £400m in annual donations1
    • Serving as CCO at FutureLearn, growing it from a start-up to 5 million users in over 110 countries1
  4. He has advised and mentored over 60 companies.1

  5. Earlier in his career, he led transformation strategies at blue-chip organizations like Dow Jones and Barclaycard, and worked as a management consultant for Gemini Consulting.1

  6. Howard is married to Stephanie and has two daughters.1

Howard Bell's experience in scaling businesses and his focus on social impact make him well-suited for his role at Fair for You Enterprise CIC, which provides affordable credit solutions to lower-income households.3

Highlights

May 21 · linkedin

The British Red Cross stands for humanity. At a time when the world seems besieged by wars, natural disasters and climate change, there is no shortage of urgent, unmet needs for humanitarian emergency response organisations (think Gaza, Ukraine , refugees fleeing conflict, UK nationals requiring first aid). For 154 years, British Red Cross has brought kindness, hope, courage, dignity, and tireless effort to people in acute need, overseas and in the UK. Inspired by the need to respond to a world in polycrisis, the British Red Cross is, under our new CEO and Chair, reinventing itself, to improve support for communities in critical need whilst remaining lean and agile.

Excitingly, the British Red Cross is seeking a new trustee to join the board in January 2025. Applications are invited now, ahead of interviews in July ’24.

It is a great privilege to be a trustee of the BRC. I really recommend candidates, inspired by the vision, with c. 20 days pa capacity, to apply. Applicants are sought from people with a strategic mindset who have led at a senior level - board or committee, in a large, complex organisation - commercial, charity or public sector and have understanding of income generation and change management.

Trustees must be genuinely committed to the work and cause of the British Red Cross in alleviating human suffering overseas and at home and able to clearly articulate ideas with solid judgement. As you would expect, the BRC is committed to inclusive practice and championing diversity. Please note that the closing date for applicants is now May 31st. Please apply or spread the word to contacts who would love to do a great job for the British Red Cross.

Related Questions

What are some of Howard Bell's most notable achievements at Fair for You?
How did Howard Bell contribute to the growth of PayPal Europe?
What transformation strategies did Howard Bell implement at Barclaycard?
How has Howard Bell's career evolved since his early days at Gemini Consulting?
What are the main goals of Fair for You under Howard Bell's leadership?
Howard Bell
Howard Bell, photo 1
Howard Bell, photo 2
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Location

New Malden, Greater London, United Kingdom