We believe each life matters

James has many years experience in the international charitable and business sectors, with a particular emphasis on governance and the application of his Christian faith in all walks of life.

James worked in the City of London for 30 years, and for 20 of these as a corporate partner of Slaughter and May, one of the City’s leading international law firms.  Whilst there he led or founded numerous Christian initiatives.

He was then, for six years, chair of the committee advising Europe’s largest ethical investor on ethical investment, and particularly helped to re-orientate its approach to climate change and the global extractives industry. He has been chair of The British and Foreign Bible Society since 2015. He also works with YWAM, one of Medair’s founding partners.

James has written and spoken extensively on the need for business to better serve the common good, and is the general editor of a book on global business and human rights.  He has a degree in theology and law from Cambridge University.

James is married, with five adult children and 10 grandchildren. He is passionate about the countryside and seeing young people fulfil their potential.

James began serving on the Medair board in 2020.

Fraser works as a consultant to non-profit boards that are going through CEO leadership transitions. Previously he led the Global Development practice of an Executive Search firm, helping INGOs, Foundations, and UN agencies to appoint senior leaders.

Fraser has a long history with Medair, having first served in South Sudan in 1997. He also established the UK affiliate office, led Medair’s emergency response in Darfur, and served as Country Director in Uganda.

Fraser brings a broad range of governance experience with UK organisations. He is a trustee of Urban Devotion, governor at Bluecoat Academy, and serves as an elder at Heart Church. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Hampton Manor.

Fraser earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Masters in Public International Law from the University of Nottingham.

Jacques Demaurex is an experienced finance manager in corporate finance and in asset management, earned in diversified financial and cultural environments in the US and Europe.

Jacques earned a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Lausanne.

Jacques began his career with a Swiss bank in Lausanne, then transferred to the US to work for SBC Warburg. He worked in San Francisco and in New York City before returning with the same corporation in Geneva as Director of Corporate Finance.

Jacques then took management positions in the finance industry, first with the private bank, Bonhote Bank, then for the Tetra Pak Group. Presently, Jacques works as head of asset management for a large family office, Sureco Investments SA.

Jacques began serving on the Medair board in 2013. 

Jacques is also on the boards of Medair Invest In Aid Foundation, Fondation le Cep, and  Fondation Ichtus.

Anne Headon is an international business leader operating at the board level with a strong strategy, innovation and marketing background. She is a business mentor supporting start-ups and scale-ups, in collaboration with leading universities in Switzerland and the UK.

Anne earned a Master of Science in Business with honours from HEC Lausanne (Faculté des Hautes Études Commerciales) in Switzerland, where she later served as a Business Advisory Board Member. She also holds an MBA from INSEAD (the European Institute of Business Administration) in France.

Anne is currently a member of four corporate boards and one non-profit board (Medair). She was a past board member of two non-profit and two corporate boards.

She works as Growth Expert and Tutor in the Entrepreneurship Centre of the Said Business School of the University of Oxford. Prior to this, Anne was co-founder and partner of Crescendo Marketing in Switzerland, a market research and marketing strategy agency. She served as Marketing Director of the L’Oreal Group in the UK and worked in brand management for Procter & Gamble in Switzerland. Her first career steps were in management consulting with McKinsey & Co in Switzerland.

Anne began her service on the Medair board in 2018.

Sam brings to the International Board of Trustees (IBoT) a unique combination of humanitarian experience, financial expertise, and a passion for corporate governance and good stewardship, all motivated by his Christian faith.

He has worked exclusively in the humanitarian sector for more than 15 years, both in the field and in HQ settings, with World Vision, Save the Children, and Lutheran World Federation. Sam first encountered Medair when he was in Angola from 2002 to 2008, and came away deeply impressed by the professionalism of the team and inspired by their faith motivation. His primary expertise is in finance, administration, and grant management, with an extensive background in external and internal auditing. Since 2011, he has worked for UNICEF in Geneva as Finance Manager for the Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division.

Samson began serving on Medair’s board in 2016.

Peter Wilson has been a leader in both the public and private sectors, including UK central government departments and FTSE top 20 and blue chip corporations. Peter began his career working in advertising agencies in the UK and abroad before becoming Marketing Manager with GlaxoSmithKline. From there, he moved to Marketing Controller with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and then on to Marketing Director with Kettle Foods.

Peter then moved to the public sector as Deputy Director of HMRC (UK’s taxation/customs authority), the UK’s largest organisation (£450 bn), where he delivered their transition to a customer centric model and a programme to “improve society’s financial capability”. He then advanced to a director’s position in fraud prevention and cyber security in The Home Office in the UK, launching a global-first fraud and cyber-crime reporting system, which enabled public and private sectors to improve the protection of those most vulnerable to fraud.

Since October 2013, Peter has served as Deputy Director for the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism of The Home Office, where he is SRO Head of Unit for research and communications, leading a team of specialists across public and private sectors in the UK, EU, and other partner countries to deliver programmes that disrupt criminal and terrorist activity and protect the vulnerable and those at risk.

Peter began serving on the Medair board in 2015.

Rachel is a UK-qualified lawyer who worked initially in London for international and national blue-chip clients. However, an invitation to join MEDAIR in 1997 resulted in a huge, life-changing move to South Sudan and a shift from working with the wealthy and privileged in London to serving the poor and forgotten in the Global South.

What was initially meant to be a 2-year experience turned into a 16 year adventure in East Africa working in aid and then development. Rachel advised international NGOs and institutional donors on legal and governance issues, advocacy and justice campaigning but more importantly met so many inspirational people along the way which enriched her life perspective and vision.

Rachel worked for MEDAIR from 1998-2002 beginning as a volunteer in South Sudan and ending as MEDAIR’s Country Director in Uganda.

She has been instrumental in, and has convened, a wide range of governance structures and organisational committees within church communities as well as professionally. As Secretariat to the multi-donor group on Private Sector Development and Trade, she coordinated the work of major bilateral and multilateral donors in Tanzania in private sector development and trade.

She is a linguist who is passionate about the value of cross-cultural communication and of bringing different communities together for mutual benefit.

Rachel was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) honour by the Queen in 2015 for “services to international development, humanitarian relief and poverty reduction”.

She is delighted to be back in MEDAIR serving on the International Board as a Trustee.

Benoit worked as a manager for Arthur Andersen in London and Geneva early in his career, where he worked in auditing and bank reorganization. From there he moved to PricewaterhouseCoopers in Geneva, where he implemented a banking software system and reviewed several financial institutions.

Benoit then moved to Lombard Odier & Cie Geneva, a private bank, with a focus on wealthy foreigners resident in Switzerland, and from there he moved as a partner to Dominicé & Co, where he current works as Head of Private Asset Management.

Benoit is also on the board of the Papoose Foundation.