Mark Hamlin is Chair of Project 44, Lewis Hamilton’s management company.
Born in Johannesburg, Mark was deputy Chairman of Cable and Wireless Communications plc. For the last eight years, Mark has acted as an advisor to a global humanitarian organisation headquartered in New York.
Ajaz founded the design company AKQA aged 21. Today, AKQA is one of the world’s most awarded agencies. With clients that include Nike, Apple and LVMH, AKQA employs around 6,000 people around the world. AKQA is also the winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation.
Ajaz won the Spear’s Impact Award for Philanthropy in 2022 for the contribution of his charitable foundation ajaz.org. He also serves on the board of trustees for non-profit organisations including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Virgin Unite, and The Royal Foundation’s Mental Health Innovations. He was made an MBE in 2018. Ajaz has published three books and his essays and publications are available here.
Ajaz has extensive marketing and communications experience as well as experience on the Board of a grantmaking organisation.
Derek Bardowell is the CEO of Ten Years’ Time and the author of No Win Race, a Sunday Times and Financial Times Book of the Year in 2019, and forthcoming book Giving Back.
He is also a Knowledge Equity Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, host of the Just Cause podcast and a Thirty Percy Foundation trustee.
Dawid is Co-Founder of Redington, Mallowstreet and 10,000 Black Interns.
Dawid qualified as a barrister and spent 16 years in investment banking. He was named Black British Business Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 and is on the Prime Minister’s Business Council 2022.
He is passionate about mentoring young people and helping them learn to speak confidently in public so that they can tell their story and ‘hold the room spellbound’. He believes that every child needs in their life at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about them.
Anne is Vice President, Content at Netflix UK, where she leads the teams across all genres. Prior to this, she was Director of Drama and Sky Studios at Sky UK, Head of Independent Drama at the BBC and Head of Drama for BBC Scotland. She oversees all Netflix UK commissions including BAFTA, Emmy & Golden Globe award winning Netflix drama The Crown and BAFTA award winning Netflix series Sex Education.
Anne is a trustee of Into Film, as well as a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Anne was named Britain’s third most influential Black person in The Powerlist 2023.
Anne has experience in the creative industries as well as experience of organisational growth.
Matthew Otubu is Head of International Campaigns at the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where he operates as an international strategist at the intersection of geopolitics and the future of global technology, media and telecommunications policy.
In addition to Mission 44, he also serves as a Board Member at NCG Corporation, one of the largest education groups in the UK with a nationwide portfolio of seven colleges and a mission to enable social mobility and economic prosperity through exceptional education and quality employment.
In 2020, Matthew was awarded a British Empire Medal by HM The Queen for voluntary services to young people and communities in the UK and Africa.
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.
She chairs the government’s Business Innovation Forum and St. Andrews Prize for the Environment and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on Black representation in UK motorsport.
Hayaatun is NXD at Laing O’Rourke and the UNBOXED festival; trustee of EngineeringUK and Foundation for Science & Technology; member of the Levelling Up Advisory Council; and advisor to EQL:HER and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. She has been named as one of the ten most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a PhD in Biochemistry and was made CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019.
Jason is CEO of Mission 44. After starting his career as a teacher in East London, he has held leadership roles in the non-profit sector, including at Teach First, the #iwill campaign and Youth Futures Foundation. Jason also served as a senior local councillor in London. He holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Masters in Education from the University of Cambridge.
Xavier is Digital Communications Officer at Mission 44, responsible for content creation and managing our social media channels. Originally from Nottingham, he graduated from the University of Manchester with a Masters in History. He then started his career within the charity sector as a Programme Coordinator at upReach, before joining Mission 44 in July 2022.
Hannah is Operations Manager and Executive Assistant at Mission 44, supporting the CEO and Head of Operations and Finance. She previously held roles at The Jo Cox Foundation and Ark, after graduating from Durham University with a degree in History and Education in 2018.
Melanie is a Partnerships Manager, responsible for managing the logistics and coordination for the Ignite Partnership at Mission 44. Melanie has significant experience in utilising sport to tackle social issues and helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to realise their potential. She has worked in a variety of settings, including football clubs, pupil referral units and youth offending teams in London.
Sharon is Head of Impact at Mission 44, responsible for overseeing our grant-making approach. She has a long history in grant-making, having worked for The National Lottery Community Fund, Children in Need and Youth Futures Foundation amongst others. She is Vice Chair of the Co-op Foundation and as a proud northerner also sits on the Board of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Katie helps lead on Mission 44’s grantmaking and activities to enable pathways for young people into STEM and the creative industries, as well as, work towards a diverse and inclusive motorsport sector. She brings over 10 years experience working across sectors building entrepreneurial, equitable and collaborative approaches to social impact. Katie is also a member of the Social Innovation Advisory Council to the Government of Canada.
Steph is Head of Research and Strategy at Mission 44, where she is responsible for developing our evidence base, overseeing our research programme and measuring the impact of our partnerships. Steph has worked in educational and equality research for over 15 years, leading on national and international studies for organisations such as the European Commission, UKRI, and the Home Office, most recently serving as Head of Research and Evaluation at EngineeringUK.
Amy is Senior Communications Manager at Mission 44, leading the organisation’s communications and engagement programme. Amy has over a decade of experience in the non-for-profit sector, with a particular focus on young people, collaborating with global brands on multimedia change-making campaigns. Amy graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Sociology.
Olivier is Head of Finance and Operations. He has worked in the private and public sector, in France and the UK, and has been a theatre producer for many years. Olivier is a Chartered Accountant and recently held finance roles at Somerset House Trust, Soho Theatre and Artsadmin. He holds a Master’s degree in Executive Engineering and is currently doing an MBA at Warwick Business School. He is also the Vice-Chair of Talawa Theatre Company and a Trustee of Paines Plough.
As a Partnerships Manager, Deshni manages relationships with Mission 44’s portfolio of funded partners and plays a key role delivering our progressive grant-making programmes. Based in Bristol, Deshni holds a passion for music and advocating for equality. Outside of Mission 44, Deshni sits on the Board for Saffron, a music tech initiative working to re-address the gender imbalance in the industry.
Stephanie is Senior Development Officer at Mission 44 and an Associate Sporting Director for Team X44. Stephanie is a former Senior Trackside Fluid Engineer who co-managed the Petronas Trackside Laboratory. Prior to Petronas, she was an asset care engineer at BASF PLC, where she was responsible for asset reliability and the general coordination of asset management plans.
Sarah is Director of External Relations and a member of Mission 44’s Senior Leadership Team. With 20 years’ experience in Fundraising, Communications and Engagement, Sarah has held previous roles at global organisations, including UNICEF, ActionAid and International Rescue Committee. She also serves on the Board of STIR Education.