eoa Board

Chris McDermott was the former Chair & CEO of Cambridge Nutritional Foods (CNF), a group that includes The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, Food Nutrition Partners (FNP), and Serenova. 

Schooled in South Africa, Chris began his career as a goldsmith before switching paths in his mid-20s to study journalism. This pivot led to roles in PR and marketing, eventually bringing him to The 1:1 Diet as its first PR executive over twenty years ago.

Chris rose through the ranks, becoming CEO in 2015 after its transition to employee ownership. In 2024, the company became part of the CNF Group, where he oversaw operations that span diet and specialist nutritional food manufacturing, direct sales, and women’s health. He officially retired in 2025.

Chris has navigated the complexities of transitioning to and running an employee owned business, gaining deep insights into its benefits and challenges for over a decade.

CNF was crowned ‘Employee Owned Business of the Year’ at the 2019 UK EO Awards and, in 2024, the company’s Manufacturing Manager, Tracy Calderwood, won ‘Employee Owner of the Year’.

“Initially a sceptic of employee ownership, I’ve come to embrace the challenges and the rewards that being part of an employee owned enterprise brings. I joined the eoa Board because I felt could offer an interesting and practical insight into what it takes to lead an EO business.”

James is Chief Executive of the eoa. Previously James was Head of Development at Co-operatives UK and has a background in international and local economic development.  

James is a Director of the Ownership at Work thinktank, a board member of Scotland for Employee Ownership, an Executive Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University and RSA Fellow.

“Fundamentally, I believe EO demonstrates that businesses can succeed and thrive by embracing a model that prioritises shared success and inclusive growth. It’s a way of doing business that ensures all stakeholders - employees, communities, and investors - benefit from the value created. EO is rooted in the belief that empowering individuals as co-owners fosters innovation, fairness, and resilience, proving there’s a better way to power our economy and build a more equitable future, and this is a future I’m proud to help build.”

Chris joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1998 on the management development programme and has held various leadership roles, including Head of Branch in Cardiff and Liverpool. 

Between 2016 and 2020, he worked at Waitrose & Partners, serving as Head of Shop Trade for the North and Channel Islands and as President of the Waitrose Council.

For the past five years, Chris has been President of the Partnership Council, overseeing its governance, co-ownership model, and democratic structures for 80,000 Partners. He leads the Democratic Vitality team, which promotes and safeguards the Partnership’s democratic principles, ensuring they are embedded in strategic decision-making and leadership culture.

Chris has also led efforts to redefine what it means to be a Partner, resulting in a refreshed Employee Value Proposition that strengthens the Partnership’s culture and values.

Moreover, Chris is also an Independent Trustee at ADP Architecture, supporting them to become an employee owned business.

"As part of the eoa Trust Articles, the John Lewis Partnership has an automatic seat on the Board. I therefore have the privilege of holding this position, one that I do not take lightly.” 

David B. Robinson is a seasoned business leader with decades of experience in driving growth, culture, and brand development. As Executive Chairman of Richer Sounds, he has led the company’s transformation into a multi-channel retailer with over 500 employees and a turnover exceeding £200 million. Key achievements under his leadership include transitioning the business to employee ownership in 2019, acquiring a major online competitor, and earning a Royal Warrant.

David’s career spans roles as Operations Director and Managing Director, where he has excelled in team building, innovation, and strategic planning. Beyond Richer Sounds, he’s Managing Director of JR Properties, overseeing a £100 million property portfolio, and

Trustee of the Persula Foundation. He also serves as a Non-Executive Board Member of Great Places Housing Group, contributing to governance and strategy, and is Chair of Cube Homes.

David is committed to education, serving as Chair of Governors at Stockport Academy and as a former Trustee of United Learning. A sought-after speaker, he shares insights on leadership, customer service, and motivation while supporting charities like the Samaritans and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

“Having received great support from the eoa team during Richer Sounds transition to employee ownership, I wanted to support the aims of the eoa further by becoming a Board Member.”

Kirsty is CFO at Synergy Vision, a global SME medical communications agency. With offices in London, Sydney, and Dublin, the business has been employee owned since 2021 and is also proud to be a four-day working week company. 

A languages graduate from Edinburgh University, Kirsty qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland in 2000. Earlier, she gained commercial finance experience working for Diageo, BBC, Dell, and Hewlett Packard.  

Over the past decade, Kirsty has been working at Synergy Vision where she’s gained international Board experience within their UK, Irish, and Australian entities. She’s a trusted partner to the CEO and Senior leaders, combining financial expertise with business acumen. She’s a digital leader, setting the strategy and leveraging technology solutions that optimise growth and efficiencies. This includes a consultancy software implementation, transition to the cloud and navigating how the company will embrace AI. She’s also accountable for the company’s risk management and governance, responsible for assessing risks and implementing mitigating strategies.  

Kirsty has also previously been a trustee within the charity sector, where she provided financial and strategic support. 

“I joined the eoa Board because of my belief in employee ownership as a successful model for founders, employees and the wider economy. I was also inspired by the eoa Board Members I met during the interview process who were passionate about the future of the organisation and the benefits of employee ownership.”

Originally from Sheffield, Ed is a University of Nottingham Business School graduate. He joined the GLIDE Group in 2001 at start-up Gripple USA. In 2009, he became Managing Director of Loadhog and, since 2015, has served as Group Managing Director of Gripple Ltd. 

Gripple has an Innovation and Research Centre and seven smart factories in Sheffield, with operations in 14 countries and over 1,500 employee owners. GLIDE is a multi-award-winning group that embodies the Growth-led Innovation Driven employee owned philosophy, which Ed advocates. GLIDE is the largest EO manufacturing group in the UK. 

With over 20 years of international experience, Ed focuses on the ‘Growth and Beyond Growth’ initiative and Climate Positive strategies, emphasising the need to rethink corporate structures, adopting new success indicators and enhance employee engagement. He collaborates with Sheffield University Management School on executive teaching and research in employee ownership.

“Employee ownership is proven to positively impact the economy, communities, quality of work and people’s lives. It works! With the challenges faced in the UK economy and the changing world of work now is the time!”

Kingsley is a board director and founding shareholder of Emperor, a B Corp-certified creative and strategic communications agency majority-owned by an Employee Ownership Trust. Now working part-time, he supports the leadership team and mentors senior leaders in the creative industry. His expertise spans finance, strategy, communications, culture, and management, and he’s passionate about businesses driving positive change for all stakeholders.

A qualified chartered accountant with experience in corporate finance and strategy, Kingsley completed the Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching at Henley Business School in 2024.

Kingsley’s also a Board Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee for Olive Academies, a multi-academy trust specialising in Alternative Provision and Special Educational Needs. Additionally, he serves as a Trustee of the Emperor Foundation, which focuses on fundraising and volunteering initiatives.

“I believe that employee ownership can play a significant role in delivering the type of responsible capitalism that we need to shape a successful future. A future where businesses are more profitable and efficient but share the rewards equitably and with a responsibility to their employees, communities and the environment. I joined the board of the eoa to play my part in progressing that agenda.”

Lindsay is an experienced HR professional with over twenty years of expertise working across multinational corporations, family-owned businesses, and an employee owned SME. Her focus areas include organisational development, change management, leadership development, internal communications, and employee engagement.

As People, Culture, and Operations Director at LDA Design, Lindsay has spent almost a decade driving cultural transformation to deliver better outcomes for employee owners and clients. She played a key role in LDA Design’s transition to employee ownership, helping set the vision and guiding employee owners through the process.

Lindsay’s passion for EO led to her appointment to the eoa Board in 2022, where she continues to support and advocate for all things EO.

“As a long-standing champion of employee engagement, my interest in EO and the eoa was the natural next step. The eoa was hugely valuable through our transition to employee ownership, myself and my Board colleagues at LDA Design were keen to give back to the association and sector.”