THE COUTTS FOUNDATION TRUSTEES,
STAFF AND ADVISORS

Chair

Lord remnant 

Lord Remnant joined Coutts as a Non-Executive Director in 2022, becoming Chairman on 1st January 2023.

Lord Remnant brings substantial advisory, regulatory and listed company experience to the Board, having worked in senior roles across the financial services sector, including banking, insurance and asset management.  He is the Senior Independent Director of Prudential plc and sits in the House of Lords.

In 2022, he stepped down from Severn Trent plc after nine years on the Board and retired from the Takeover Panel after 10 years as Deputy Chair.  Previously, he was Chairman of the City of London Investment Trust plc and of M&G Group Limited.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Lord Remnant spent his working life in the City as an investment banker, first with Kleinwort Benson and latterly with Credit Suisse. He was vice-chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston Europe and head of the UK investment banking department.  He was Director General of the Takeover Panel for two years between 2001 and 2003, and again in 2010.

At the time of the financial crisis in 2008 Lord Remnant was working within Government as Chairman of the Shareholder Executive. He then sat on the board of UKFI, which was responsible for the Government’s shareholdings in RBS and Lloyds, and was also appointed to the board of Northern Rock as one of two government appointed directors.

Lord Remnant is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

VICKI DELA AMEDUME MBE

Originally training as a scientist with degrees in both pharmacology and computer science, Vicki Dela ran away to join the circus and performed across the world as one of the UK’s leading aerial artists. In 2006 she founded and is the Artistic Director of Upswing - an award- winning performance company that expands the possibilities of circus not only as an art form but as an evolving and adaptive set of practices that can help us imagine and shape the world we want to live in. With Upswing Vicki has created/directed large-scale ‘headline’ events for festivals, theatre projects working with older people in care homes and outdoor touring work for town centres. 

Outside of Upswing Vicki is an Associate Director at the New Vic and Creative Director at The Albany, Deptford.  Vicki is Chair of the Baring Foundation Arts Committee and was awarded an MBE in 2022 The Queen’s Birthday honours for Services to Circus.

javid cante

Bringing 30 years of experience in finance, governance and regulations, Javid is currently the Chief Financial Officer for the UK & EMEA region at Compagnie Financiere Tradition S.A. – one of the world’s largest brokers. He was formerly the Group Financial Controller for the CLS Group (including CLS Bank) which operates the largest global multi-currency cash settlement system for the FX market. His earlier career has included leadership roles at UBS Wealth Management, Barclays and KPMG in a variety of finance and risk roles.

Javid holds a degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the London Business School. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Governance Institute of the UK and Ireland (CGI/ICSA) and of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). 

Javid currently serves as a trustee and treasurer of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe and is a trustee of Community Links.  Previously he has served as a trustee and audit committee chair at the British Postal Museum & Archive and as a trustee at the Contemporary Art Society. He volunteers as an advisor to charities and start-up businesses; and is currently on the advisory board for Master Money –a service empowering young ethnic minority professionals to gain Financial Skills.

Solange Chamberlain

Solange was appointed NatWest’s Group Director of Strategic Development in April 2024. She is responsible for working alongside the executive leadership team to put in place and progress the bank’s strategy. She also leads the Climate and Sustainable Banking agenda, focused on how to best support our customers through transitions. 

Solange has strong expertise in strategic transformation, digital and balance sheet management. She was previously the Chief Operating Officer of NatWest’s Commercial & Institutional (C&I) business and played a leading role in bringing together the businesses supporting the bank’s customers from entrepreneurs and start-ups through to multi-nationals and financial institutions. During this time, she was also part of the Group’s RBSI Board. 

Prior to joining NatWest in 2019, Solange held a range of senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group across Corporate Development, Treasury, Insurance and Commercial Banking, supporting the organisation’s simplification and return to private ownership. Through her career Solange has provided advisory services to a wide range of financial institutions, having spent time at Lazard, Citigroup and Perella Weinberg. 

Originally from France, Solange graduated from Imperial College London with a first-class honours’ degree in Mathematics. She now lives in London with her husband and two daughters. 

Emma Crystal

Emma Crystal joined NatWest Group as CEO of Coutts and Wealth Businesses on 1 July 2024.  

Before moving to NatWest Group, she was Lead, Sustainable Finance Group at UBS and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at Credit Suisse where her responsibilities included setting the sustainability strategy and ambition for the bank and partnering with the divisions, regions and functions, to deliver their sustainability commitments. These included expanding the wealth management product shelf, investment banking financing offering and net zero deliverables.

Previously, Emma held a number of senior leadership positions at Credit Suisse including leading the Wealth Management business for Northern and Western Europe. Prior to that, she also covered Family Offices for the UK and Nordic markets.

Before joining Credit Suisse, Emma worked in Global Markets at Deutsche Bank for 10 years.

Emma graduated from Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, with a master’s degree in Economics and Business.

Emma is a member of the Executive Committee of NatWest Holdings and also sits on the Coutts Board in her capacity as Coutts CEO.  

Rachel Harrington

Rachel joined Coutts in 2011, having previously worked in the non-profit sector for several years. As a specialist adviser in the Coutts Institute, she works with clients across the UK to develop their family strategies for wealth, prepare the next generation for the opportunities and responsibilities of wealth, and create philanthropy strategies that are effective and rewarding. She has a particular interest in Diversity and Inclusion and has previously chaired the Coutts Women's Network and Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Rachel holds a BA (Hons) in Modern History and English from the University of Oxford. She is also a Trustee of Breaking Barriers, a charity that supports refugees into employment, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Environmental Funders Network. Rachel has previously held trustee roles at Philanthropy Impact and the British Youth Council.

Laura Lines

Laura is a Grants Manager at the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, one of the largest independent grant-makers in the UK spending £40.5 million a year towards a wide range of work within the arts, children and young people, the environment and social change.

Laura's specialist area is social justice with an emphasis on gender equality, refugee and migration and criminal justice. She co-convenes the Association of Charitable Foundation's network on criminal justice and is also a Trustee of Safe Ground, which empowers people to change, reduce reoffending and build stronger communities.

Judith Mcneill

Judith joined the KPMG Foundation as CEO in June 2019 and has over 25 years of leadership experience in the not for profit sector.

Judith has worked in some of the UK's most well known charities including Scope, Macmillan, WaterAid and Comic Relief, and worked alongside many more. She is an experienced relationship builder, grant maker, and is a passionate advocate for social change. She draws on her roots in the north west of England, a family life in one of London's most diverse boroughs, and learning from community organisations and social entrepreneurs across the world, from Derry to Delhi.

Judith's early career was in biochemistry with a doctorate in cancer research and has recently worked in the City of London with one of the UK's oldest philanthropic organisations. She has undertaken fascinating freelance assignments in the youth, environment and health sectors and is a Trustee of the Nationwide Foundation.

NATALIE MERRENS

Natalie joined Coutts in 2018 to head up Client Investment Management where her team look after over £12bn assets under management.

Natalie began her career as a currency trader at Lehman Brothers before taking on a similar role at Citibank, where she remained for six years. Following this she moved to UBS Wealth Management where she worked as an Investment Consultant for over five years before being appointed Kleinwort Benson Private Bank’s Head of Strategic Wealth Advisory for 9 years. Prior to joining Coutts, Natalie spent three years as Head of Investment Solutions at Rathbones.

Natalie holds a Masters (MSc) degree in Investment Management and Risk Management from Cass Business School and is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment.

Linda Urquhart obe

Linda has over 30 years’ experience in the legal industry as a former partner, CEO and Chairman of Scottish law firm, Morton Fraser.

She is currently a Non-Executive Director of Edinburgh Airport as well as Coutts & Co, where she is the Chair of the Performance & Remuneration Committee. She was formerly Chairman of This is Remarkable and a non-executive Director of Adam & Co. She is a former board member of the CBI and Scottish Enterprise and was awarded an OBE for services to business in 2012.

In the charitable sector, Linda is a Vice President of Girlguiding as well as President of Girlguiding Scotland. She was previously a Trustee of Marie Curie and involved in the Prince’s Trust Scotland as a member of their Edinburgh and Lothians Board then their Scottish Development Board.

director
CLARE RICHARDS MBE

Clare joined the Coutts Foundation in 2022; previously CEO of the ClementJames Centre, Clare has over 20 years of leadership experience in the not for profit sector.  Clare is also a founder and Trustee of IntoUniversity and Trustee of The Grenfell Foundation.

Clare was awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to the community in North Kensington.

SUPPORT STAFF

Neil Henderson is the company secretary and Jennifer Coleman provides additional advice and support.  Fiona Wray is the administrator.