New Chief Executive takes the helm at 1851 Trust
by 1851 Trust 29 Apr 2017 14:38 BST
29 April 2017
Ben Cartledge is appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the 1851 Trust © 1851 Trust
The 1851 Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Ben Cartledge as the new Chief Executive Officer.
Ben joins the 1851 Trust in Portsmouth at an exciting time, and will lead the development and delivery of sailing and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education projects as well as shaping the future of the 1851 Trust.
The 1851 Trust is the Official Charity of Land Rover BAR, the British Challenger for the 35th America's Cup.
There is a widely-recognised shortfall of students choosing to study STEM subjects after the age of 16, resulting in a skills gap in design and technology industries. The 1851 Trust aims to inspire a future generation of sailors, designers and engineers by demonstrating how these skills are essential to the performance of Land Rover BAR, as they prepare to compete in the most technologically advanced America's Cup ever, in Bermuda in May 2017.
Ben was previously Director of Strategy at Maggie's, a national cancer support charity. Ben comments "The 1851 Trust is a unique organisation – able to inspire young people through the excitement of Land Rover BAR, the British Challenger for the America's Cup. The 1851 Trust is supported by an incredible board of trustees, donors and partners; with Sir Ben Ainslie as the patron and HRH Duchess of Cambridge as a Royal Patron. I'm thrilled to be joining the 1851 Team as CEO at such an exciting time, and am really looking forward to growing the Trust's impact."
Ben replaces interim CEO Jo Stocks who has led the development of the 1851 Trust over the past 18 months. During this time, the 1851 Trust has delivered a range of projects which has seen over 2000 local children experience sailing, 1500 children nationwide engaged in hands on STEM activities or experiments, 62 local schools have brought classes to visit the hands-on Tech Deck & Education Centre at Land Rover BAR and over 600 teachers have registered for BT STEM Crew, the 1851 Trust's unique online educational resource.
Under the leadership of a permanent CEO, the 1851 Trust has plans to increase both on and offline participation of 11-16 year olds in STEM activities, introduce a focus on sustainability and extend the Trust's reach to beyond Hampshire and Solent areas.