Matthew Wilson

Matthew Wilson deserves to win this award for two good reasons.

Firstly, he goes beyond his formal governance remit through his determination and commitment to fundraising and engagement. Following his own blood cancer diagnosis, he set up the Matthew Wilson Multiple Myeloma Fund in 2022, with an ambitious target of £5 million. The Fund has now reached £7.4 million and is on track to reach its new target of £9 million by the end of the year. Matthew goes beyond just raising money too, helping raise awareness of blood cancer across the insurance industry, the city and beyond, delivering multiple lunch and learns and awareness raising events.

Secondly, he is committed to excellence in governance, expediting key projects such an external review of the Board and taking personal responsibility for key tasks such as trustee appraisals and succession planning, and taking a keen interest in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. A recent external evaluation categorised Blood Cancer UK’s Board as high-performing, while internal chair evaluation by other trustees gave overwhelmingly positive feedback, demonstrating Matthew to be an effective and inspiring leader.

Matthew is a charity leader who not only leads the Board, but takes personal responsibility for fundraising, delivering impact and excellence in governance. He is the epitome of excellence in a chair and is a deserving recipient of this award.