John Rhodes – Chair
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John read law at Jesus College, Cambridge before joining Macfarlanes, a City of London law firm where he worked from 1968 to 2008. He specialised in advising wealthy UK and international families on trusts, tax, philanthropic and estate planning issues. Between school and university John worked for a year as a VSO volunteer in Northern Nigeria and he has been a VSO supporter ever since. For about 15 years he also worked as a volunteer and the Chairman of the Management Committee of a Legal Aid Centre in South London. Since leaving Macfarlanes in 2008 John has expanded the number of his charity trusteeships. Apart from the Trust, he is also trustee of Arnold Foundation, Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, Tree Aid, Vision for a Nation Foundation, The Lister Foundation for Preventive Medicine and Howard Henley Memorial Trust. He is also a Director of Stonehage Law Ltd and one of the team supporting Stonehage Philanthropy Services.
Anurag, who established Kusuma Trust UK, is a businessman and philanthropist who lives with his wife and children in London, dedicating his time to busines and education projects in addition to supporting the work of The Trust.
Dr. Soma Pujari – Co-Founder and Trustee
Dr. Soma Pujari and her husband Anurag Dikshit founded the Kusuma Trust UK in order to reorganise the family’s direct charitable giving, with a view to a more structured, scaled and long term approach. Their sense of social responsibility has inspired the family to take steps to change the fortunes of the underprivileged sections of Indian society. Dr. Pujari continues to be very involved with the activities of The Trust and provides advice on strategic direction.
Andrew Hutton – Trustee
Andrew Hutton is an independent investment advisor and Director of A.J. Hutton Ltd which he established in 2007. Prior to establishing his own practice he spent 28 years in the investment management industry. From 1979 to 1997 he was at J.P. Morgan Investment Management where he held a variety of investment and business management roles in London, New York, Singapore and Melbourne; from 1997 to 2004 he was Head of Investment Management at Coutts Group; and from 2004 to 2007 Managing Director and co-head of RBS Asset Management. He graduated in Modern Languages and Law from Cambridge University and is a CFA charter holder. He is also a member of the Governing Body of The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, a Trustee of the Common Investment Funds of the Charities Aid Foundation, a Trustee of the National Trust Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme and a Director of Schroders UK Growth Fund PLC.
Prashant Jain – Trustee
Prashant Jain is the director of a private company, providing accounting, secretarial and investment-monitoring services to family owned investment firms in Gibraltar. He is a qualified Chartered Account, Company Secretary and Cost Accountant from India and has over 20 years experience in corporate finance and taxation. Prashant started his professional career in Calcutta, India. He then went on to gain international experience in Romania and the UK before he moved to Gibraltar in 2006.