Vincent Keaveny will be our new Chair of Governors; his term will begin when our current Chair Major General Andrew Ritchie CBE steps down in November. Vincent is a Senior Adviser at international law firm DLA Piper, a former Lord Mayor of the City of London and has extensive experience serving on City of London Corporation committees and boards of cultural and charitable organisations. He was appointed after an extensive recruitment process led by a specialist leadership recruitment agency.
Vincent said that he was “delighted to have this opportunity to Chair such an historic organisation” and that over the years he had come to recognise the Charterhouse “as an important element of the City that happens to be located just yards outside the City’s limits.” He added that he was looking forward to working with the Governors and the team “to ensure the Charterhouse is the best home possible for the residents, and a wonderful place to visit and enjoy its spectacular heritage”.
Having previously served as Sheriff of the City of London in 2018-19, Vincent was appointed Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2021-22. His Mayoral theme – People and Purpose – championed a purpose-led and people-focused UK Financial & Professional Services (FPS) sector. He co-chaired the HM Treasury and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) sponsored Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce and is Chair of Progress Together, the financial services membership body promoting greater socio-economic diversity in the financial services industry.
In 2013 he was elected Alderman of the Ward of Farringdon Within, one of the 25 wards of the City of London, and he has served on several City of London Corporation Committees currently including the Policy & Resources and Epping Forest & Commons Committees.
Andrew Ritchie shared that Vincent would bring “a wealth of experience and knowledge which will be of enormous value to the Charterhouse” and that he will be “an excellent Chair who is well placed to manage the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”
Chief Executive and Master of the Charterhouse Peter Aires added that he was “really thrilled to welcome Vincent to the Charterhouse and to our community” adding that “It is exciting to have someone with his skills, experience and network join as our Chair, we are very much looking forward to working with him to deliver our strategic vision as well as to develop stronger relationships with our neighbours in the City of London”.
The Assembly of Governors are a central part of the history of the Charterhouse, and were a body created by Thomas Sutton when he established the charity then called Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse in 1611. Historic Governors have included John Donne, Francis Bacon Lord St Alban, Robert Peele and Judge Jeffries, along with every British monarch from James I onwards. There are sixteen Governors who are the modern-day charity trustees; the Assembly meets three times a year and is assisted by several specialist sub-committees. The Chair of the Charterhouse is not a remunerated role.