Meet Our Members

Sir Paul Grant

Education Advisor & Mentor, Premier League, Education Advisor to Metro Mayor (Liverpool City Region), Leadership & Management Consultant

A former headteacher who has worked in education in the UK, Australia and North America, Sir Paul was knighted in recognition of his services to local and national education in 2009. A member of the Premier League’s National Advisory Group on Education and a champion of school and system improvement for more than a decade, he is also a coach, leadership and executive mentoring consultant at the Premier League. As an Education Advisor, he has provided counsel to the Football Association, Premier League and the Liverpool City Region Mayor. From 1997 to 2017, Sir Paul was headteacher at Robert Clack Comprehensive School in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, with the school being held up as an example of best practice for creating outstanding behaviour and ‘excelling against the odds’.

Katie Charles

Chief Legal Counsel,
Everton Football Club

Katie is a solicitor with more than 14 years post-qualification experience. In her current role as Chief Legal Counsel for Everton Football Club, she is responsible for the Club’s compliance with all legal, regulatory and governance-based requirements, as well as providing legal guidance to the Club’s Board of Directors. Before joining Everton, Katie worked in private practice, advising clients on disputes arising from commercial contracts, public sector contracts and company law. As such, her experience has included representing and advising high net-worth individuals, FTSE 250 companies, owner-managed private companies and public bodies, including one of the largest in the UK. 

Alison Haynes

Chief Tax & People Officer,
Everton Football Club (also Trustee)

Alison brings a wealth of experience in the finance, tax and governance sectors, having worked for leading organisations including Coopers & Lybrand, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte. She has held several senior leadership roles in that time, including her current position as Chief Tax and People Officer at Everton Football Club. Outside of her speciality, Alison has built a diverse portfolio of Non-Executive Director and chairing roles within organisations, including Students Allowed, Citizen’s Advice Greater Manchester and Leeds University Business School’s International Advisory Board. She was previously on the governing bodies of two further education colleges and one of the largest independent schools for girls in the UK, sitting on finance, general purposes, remuneration and strategy committees.

Catherine Wright

Director of Football Operations, Everton Women's Football Club

Catherine is a chartered accountant with 13 years post-qualification experience in finance, risk, governance and project management-related roles. Since joining Everton Football Club in 2018, she has worked closely with the Club’s leadership team to deliver strategic change projects, including All Together Now, Everton’s equity, diversity and inclusion campaign, and the development of plans for the Goodison Legacy project. Recently appointed Director of Women’s Football Operations, her current role is to provide strategic support in growing Everton Women as the wider game goes from strength to strength. Catherine was previously Director of Governance, responsible for the Club’s Safeguarding, Risk and Governance, and Health and Safety teams.