Our People

CHAIR

Katharine’s experience has included strategy consulting (McKinsey), banking (JP Morgan), the public sector (UK Cabinet Office), the law (Linklaters) and, most recently, asset management at The Olayan Group. The common element across these roles has been strategy, with a particular interest in implementing change in organisations with long and successful histories. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2016 for services to public efficiency.

Katharine holds two degrees from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts: an A.B. in English and American Literature and an MBA. Although born in Canada (to English and Irish parents), Katharine has spent most of the last 35 years in the UK.

TREASURER

A Corporate Finance Partner with KPMG and Global Head of Valuation Services from 1991 to 2020, he recently joined the $400bn Public Investment Fund as Senior Director.  He moved to London from Vancouver in 1997 with his wife and 3 kids, is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and a Chartered Accountant.  He has previously served on the Board of Trustees of Achievement for All, an educational charity focused on the UK’s most underprivileged children and on the Board of Directors as Vice Chairman of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jenny is the Executive Director of the Maple Leaf Trust. She joined the organisation in 2019, bringing experience of event fundraising, philanthropy, donor engagement and operational management. She has non profit experience in both the UK and India, having worked with grass roots NGOs across India including the World Aids Campaign. After studying at University College London , she started her career during the dot com boom at an internet start up, before moving into investment banking and the oil and gas industry. She brought her business acumen & discovered her true passion of working in the none profit sector whilst living and working in India. When she isn’t working, she can be found spending time with her family, her beloved dog, and indulging in her twin passions of reading and yoga.

TRUSTEE, CANADIAN CENTENNIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Kaylyn works for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development bank, where she leads its blended finance practice. Kaylyn has been based in London since 2010. Prior to EBRD, Kaylyn held roles with a boutique impact investor and in economic and financial consulting. 

Kaylyn holds two postgraduate degrees: a MSc Economic History from the London School of Economics in the UK, and a Master of Economics and Public Policy completed jointly between Sciences Po Paris and the École Polytechnique in France. She also holds a BA (Hons) in Economics and French from Dalhousie University in Canada. 

Kaylyn co-chairs the activities of the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF) sub-committee within the MLT.

TRUSTEE, HEAD OF VETERANS LEGACY

Ashley is a seasoned executive, most recently serving as the Managing Director of the British Antique Dealers’ Association (BADA). Previously, she was the financial controller and business development officer for a long-established Mayfair gallery. Having received her BA(Hons) from McMaster University in Art History, she worked in Toronto for the Ontario Heritage Trust and as a curator for a Contemporary gallery. In 2010 she moved to London to pursue a Masters in East Asian visual culture before joining a distinguished Bond Street gallery.

Ashley volunteers her time with the women’s charity, Smart Works, and is a proud member of Allbright.

TRUSTEE, UK TERRY FOX ASSOCIATION

Neil Johnson is an Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Capital, which he founded in 2017 to provide flexible funding solutions for underserved SMEs.

Neil's 30-year career has focused on channelling capital into mid-market growth companies, primarily between the UK and Canada, raising over £5 billion across private and public markets. He previously co-founded Difference Capital Financial, a Canadian publicly listed merchant bank, and spent many years at Canaccord Genuity, rising to Head of Corporate Finance (Europe) and joining the Global Executive Committee. During his time in London, Canaccord's European business grew revenues tenfold to over £50 million and became the leading corporate broker on AIM by market value.

A graduate of the Ivey Business School and a Chartered Financial Analyst, Neil is also Founder and Chair of the UK Terry Fox Association.

TRUSTEE, CANADA-UK FOUNDATION & CANADIAN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

Steven Lowe is the CEO of Lowe Strategic Inc, a London-based enterprise focused on providing consulting services to the metal industry with a focus on adopting new technologies across the precious metals value chain to create transparency, integrity and adherence to responsible sourcing criteria.  

Before this Steven spent most of his career with Scotiabank, holding numerous management positions including Global Co-head of the Bank’s base and precious metals businesses.  Steven had a range of responsibilities including business development as well as formulating and implementing the business strategy of ScotiaMocatta’s European operation.  

Steven earned his Bachelor of Commerce, with honours, at Queen’s University. He went on to the University of Western Ontario, where he completed his Masters in Business Administration. Steven qualified with the FSA as a futures and options representative and became a fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. He has served as a Director and Trustee on numerous notable Boards including Scotiabank Europe Plc, The London Bullion Market Association, The Canadian Memorial Foundation and the Canada UK Foundation. 

TRUSTEE

Robert is the Managing Partner of the McCarthy Tetrault London office, where he has been based since 1998. He is an experienced corporate/commercial lawyer, focusing his practice on transatlantic M&A and capital markets work.

Rob received his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and his BA (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario. He is the past President of the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce.

TRUSTEE

Kirsty MacDonald has enjoyed a career encompassing director level positions in leading educational and cultural institutions over thirty years in the UK and Canada. Since 2016 she has been Deputy Principal (Advancement) at the Royal Academy of Music and in summer 2022 was awarded an Hon FRAM for her achievements there. A member of the senior management team, she leads strategic planning and is responsible for external relations including fundraising, marketing, communications, audience engagement and alumni relations. She devised and launched the largest fundraising campaign for a music college, outside the US, with a target of £100m.

Kirsty has delivered transformational outcomes in every role she has taken on, which includes fundraising leadership roles at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Oxford (Wadham College). Her previous experience across higher education and the arts includes London Business School, English National Opera, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Glyndebourne. A mentor to several fundraising leaders, she is well known throughout the UK Advancement sector, often invited to speak at national higher education conferences. She is engaged with CASE, the global membership body for advancement professionals. Kirsty is the proud recipient of a CASE Crystal Apple for excellence in teaching, a CASE Laureate and Chair of the CASE Europe Trust. Kirsty has an Honours BA from the University of Toronto and an MA Oxon.

TRUSTEE

Clara Gonzalez-Martin most recently served as a managing director, legal and compliance, at Goldman Sachs, with a focus on reputational, legal and regulatory transactional risk.

Prior to that, Clara was a corporate partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt in Toronto and London. In 1999, Clara moved to London permanently, following which she joined the capital markets team at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Clara earned a BA in French Literature and Economics and an LLB from University of Toronto. She was admitted to the Bar (Ontario, Canada) in 1992, and to the Roll of Solicitors (England & Wales) in 2000

TRUSTEE

Jerry del Missier founded Copper Street Capital in July 2015. Prior to founding Copper Street, Mr. del Missier was Co-Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank and subsequently, Chief Operating Officer for Barclays Bank Plc (1997-2012).

Mr. del Missier is a past Chairman of the Board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and served on the Boards of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA); the Markets Management Group (MMG) of the International Institute of Finance (IIF); the British American Business Council; and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). He currently serves on the Board of Room to Read, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Advisory Board of the Queen’s University School of Business (QSB) in Kingston, Canada.

Mr. del Missier holds an MBA from Queens University (1987) and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Queens University (1985).

TRUSTEE

Courtney works in CIBC’s Investment Banking division where she advises clients in the infrastructure & power sectors across the UK and Europe. Born in Toronto, Courtney relocated with CIBC to London to pursue her career in finance in 2018. Courtney joined CIBC in 2012 as part of the Debt Capital Markets team. In that role, she focused on debt origination in the corporate bond market, specialising primarily in the power & utilities, infrastructure and energy sectors.

As a dual Canadian and UK citizen, Courtney has always had close ties to the UK.  She has been involved in a number of charities and organisations historically including Special Olympics and the United Way’s Women Gaining Ground. Courtney holds a Honors Business Administration (HBA) from Ivey Business School in Canada and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

PATRON

The Honourable Bill Blair is a distinguished public servant whose career spans more than four decades in policing, federal politics and diplomacy. In 2026 he was appointed High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom.

Mr Blair served the people of Toronto for over 39 years, rising from beat officer to Chief of the Toronto Police Service in 2005, where he led Canada's largest municipal police service. He also served as President of both the Ontario and Canadian Associations of Chiefs of Police, and was named a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

First elected MP for Scarborough Southwest in 2015 and re-elected three times, he held several senior Cabinet posts, including Minister of National Defence, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and President of the King's Privy Council for Canada.

He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the FBI National Academy, and lives in London with his wife, Susanne.