Board Members

The Board and their Advisors will also manage eventually the distribution of surpluses for the benefit of arts and leisure facilities in the Bovey Tracey community. None of the directors has any conflicts of interest in relation to this project. Since the project took shape in April 2017, the project leadership has achieved a huge amount in a short time to realise the project, establish the Community Benefit Society, develop the business plan and apply for all the necessary permissions. This has shown that the group is effective and able to deliver this ambitious project.

David McGahey- Chairman

David was Director of Education for Buckinghamshire until 2000, having previously worked for five other local authorities. From 2001 he  was Managing Director of a number of education businesses: Amey Education, VT Education and Skills, HBS Education and Eteach. He retired in 2014 as Director and Chief Executive of AMC Ltd, a market leading executive recruitment consultancy working with independent and maintained schools in the UK and with international schools world-wide. David has an MA(Hons), an MA and a PGCE. David is a Governor of the St John’s Hospital Education Foundation, a Governor of his old school, Exeter School, and nearer to home he is Chairman of the Lustleigh Society and a keen member of the Lustleigh Players. Until he moved back to Devon in 2015 to live in Lustleigh, he was for many years a Director/Chairman of the charity which runs The Film Place in Buckingham, an independent, community cinema.

Ian Alexander

Brought up in and educated by the military, after medical school I spent 10 years in the army before joining the NHS. I had posts on Bristol, Tayside and finished my medical career as a physician at Derriford Hospital. I have lived in Bovey Tracey for 29 years. Since retirement I have been actively involved with Teign U3A on the committee and running a special interest group; been an outreach volunteer for benefits with the elderly for Assist Teignbridge and Kingscare. I am also currently Treasurer for the Bovey Tracey Society of Artists.

Richard Bull

Richards’s entire career has been spent working within the hospitality industry. For the last 20 years specifically within Information Technology and large scale IT projects. From 2001 to 2018 Richard was the IT Director for a large group of companies operating within the hospitality sector. His team supported over 2,000 catering outlets based in the UK and Europe. Prior to retiring in 2020, Richard led and implemented a number of large scale group wide projects. Richard, his wife Debbie, daughter and their two grandchildren all live in Bovey Tracey. Richard volunteers at the Bovey Tracey information centre and is also a Director of a not for profit company which manages the estate of properties where he lives. Outside of work Richard enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, riding his motorbike and flying radio controlled models. Richard is keen to lend his skills to this exciting new community project.

Marion Edwards

Marion moved to Bovey Tracey in 2003, after spending more than 20 years living in Hong Kong where she was Professor of Optometry and Director of the Centre for Myopia Research at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She obtained her PhD as a mature student having investigated factors influencing myopia development in Chinese children. Marion lived in Kenya prior to Hong Kong, where she worked in private practice and obtained a private pilot’s license. She now chairs the grant-writing sub-group having joined it as a member in June 2021 after spending over four years as a community member on the Steering Group for the Bovey Parish Neighbourhood Plan.

Graham Fice

Graham was born in Bovey.  Although moving around the south of England for work he helped establish the Bovey Heritage Centre and obtained the formal grant of the town’s coat of arms to mark the Millennium.  The Latin words below the coat of arms may be appropriate for Paradiso: Respect the past, look forward with confidence. Graham’s career was spent in university management from Plymouth in the west to Chichester in the east, via Southampton and Surrey.  An interest in art coincided with work at Exeter University when Graham was secretary to the University’s Fine Art Committee. Exhibitions by Henry Moore and Eric Ravilious were amongst a number of shows he helped arrange, as well as shows by local artists. After a few years as a consultant in higher education Graham finished his career as Clerk to the Board of Governors and Company Secretary at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, London. He has always been involved with the work of charities and is a Trustee of an east Devon charity which supports young people’s mental health.  He also enjoys weekly volunteering with a local branch of Riding for the Disabled.

Andrew Huckerby

Andrew Huckerby is a hospitality entrepreneur with a career of over 40 years that spans the industry in both the UK and UAE. Based in Devon for the last 30 years he has also been involved, and often led, projects in both the charity and tourism community sectors in the county throughout this period. He is currently working with two higher education institutions, a dementia hub and as a programme director for a cooperative business supporting councils in the UK. 

Janine McDowell

Janine McDowell moved to the Bovey parish in 2015 and joined the board in February 2023. Janine recently retired from a 32 year career in the criminal justice system spanning both the public and private sectors. She joined the Prison Service in England and Wales in 1989 as a Prison Officer at HMP Holloway and during her career worked at a number of establishments including as Director of HMP &YOI Bronzefield where she was responsible for the start up and operation of this brand new prison for women in west London. Janine was appointed as CEO Sodexo Justice UK & Ireland in 2015 with responsibility for all of Sodexo’s prison and probation services. In addition she was the chair of the Sodexo UK & Ireland Diversity Council and a trustee of the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion. Janine is currently the chair of trustees for saferlondon, a charity that works with young Londoners and their families and peers to create a safer environment for everyone. She now enjoys life in Devon as the owner of a holiday cottage business and small holding on the outskirts of Bovey and is passionate about the power of the arts to bring communities together, including prison communities.

Ben Rodrick

Although very familiar with ‘Bovey life’ through his in-laws who live locally, Ben and his young family recently decided to relocate from London to be closer to the grandparents and begin a new chapter closer to the sea. Both Ben and his wife Rosie are volunteers at the Bovey Community Fridge and are keen to establish long-term community engagement while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Bovey Paradiso is a perfect opportunity to share his expertise and contribute to the local community. Ben’s current career as Design Director for London-based specialist focusing on high-fidelity and luxury automation technologies in both residential and hospitality sectors. Predominantly working on projects in London and the Home Counties, he sees a broad spectrum of technology applications in all manner of project contexts; ranging from scene-set lighting controls through to high-performance audio-visual systems. He has extensive experience designing and installing turn-key cinema systems for private and commercial clients. Such projects are unique and highly bespoke, and span a broad spectrum of construction challenges and budgetary constraints. He brings expertise and enthusiasm invaluable to realising the Paradiso Cinema/Theatre Project.

 

Stephen Willmore

 

Stephen Willmore’s entire career has been in product design, marketing, international standards development and other technical areas within the electrical manufacturing industry sector, holding senior management/Director positions since the mid‐80s. In 2013, he semi‐retired from his position of Technical Director at a major electrical manufacturing company, but continued part‐time work world‐wide on the development of international standards, and represented the UK on a variety of European and International standards committees until retirement in 2018. Steve and his wife Diane moved to Bovey Tracey in 2014 from the West Midlands and have made many new friends in our wonderful town. Steve has a passion to use his skills on projects aimed to be of benefit to the community.

Victoria Yates

Victoria is a Chartered Management Accountant with a background in the charity and not for profit sector. She moved to Bovey Tracey in 2023 and currently works as the Head of Finance for Landmark Theatres.  Victoria was previously Head of Finance at Contact Theatre in Manchester where she was part of the project team managing a £7m rebuild of the theatre. Other roles include Head of Finance & Resources at Farms for City Children, Director of Finance & Support Services at St Ann's Hospice and Finance Director at Circus Starr as well as posts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra.

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