Patron & Trustees

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh CVGO DStJ is our Patron and a loyal supporter of Morden College.

Alderman Sir David was the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London, serving from 2011-2012. He has been an Alderman of the City of London representing the Ward of Langbourn since 2005 and served as Sheriff of the City in 2009-2010. Sir David was a solicitor, a partner in Allen & Overy LLP, the international law firm, from 1979 to 2015. He is Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Fletchers, the City of London Solicitors Company, the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Worshipful Company of Glaziers. He is Chairman of Northern Ballet, a Trustee of the National Opera Studio, a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta and a member of Leander Club.

Executive Chairman of Z/Yen Group – a financially-qualified scientist in aerospace and computing, running a research firm in finance and technology.

Fredrik Widlund is CEO for CLS Holdings Plc, a London-listed FTSE 250 property investment group with a commercial property portfolio in the UK, Germany and France. His background includes extensive international business and leadership experience from senior roles with GE Real Estate, GE Capital and Shell. Fredrik has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Stockholm and is a former trustee of Prospect Housing and Support Services.

Alison is a consultant at DLA Piper, having spent her career with them as a Senior Partner in their real estate practice. She is an Alderman of the City of London and served as Sheriff for the year ending September 2022. She is a Governor of the Museum of London and the Museum of London Archaeology. She has a long-time interest in sustainability and the environment and leads on this with various organisations and was a Non-Executive Director of the Green Finance Institute until June 2022. She has been a Chair of the City Bridge Trust and continues as a Board Member of Bridge House Estates.

Alastair is Founder and Chairman of Naisbitt King Asset Management Limited, an independent, FCA-regulated fund management firm, headquartered in the City of London, specialising in fixed income. Among his voluntary roles Alastair is:

• Vice-Chairman of Breast Cancer Haven, a leading national breast cancer charity
• Chair of the Institute of Directors Branch on the City of London
• Chair of YPO London Star Chapter (part of the largest network of Chairmen and CEOs in the world)
• Chairman of the Haringey Project for ‘On-Side’ – a leading provider of youth clubs (‘Youth Zones’) in deprived metropolitan areas

Robert is an Investment Director at Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth and investment management businesses, where he manages segregated global multi-asset investment portfolios for a range of clients. He served as a Director of the company and was a member of the Executive & Management Committees for 12 years.

He is on the Boards of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and the Impact Investing Institute and spent four years as a Non-Executive Director of the impact investment company, Investing for Good.

Robert is an Alderman in the City of London, having previously spent eight years as a Common Councilman during which he chaired the Corporation’s Investment Committee. He is also a Past Master of the Guild of Investment Managers (2019-20) and on the Courts of the Haberdashers’ Company.

Christopher is a lifelong Londoner who spent his career in financial services. He led communications for Standard Chartered Bank in sub-Saharan Africa and, subsequently, for Ford Motor Company’s financial services arm in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He is the 104th Alderman for the Ward of Aldersgate; a school governor; a charity Trustee; a director of a Neighbourhood Forum and the carer for his husband who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Jill Manthorpe, CBE, has recently led programmes of research on health and social care policy and practice. She joined King’s College London in September 2001, as its first Professor of Social Work, now Emerita. In 2024 she completed her period of office as a Trustee of the Orders of St John Trust, a major care home and housing with care provider, and at the Centre for Policy on Ageing. She is also a Trustee of the FAROS Foundation and the Dunhill Medical Trust. Several years ago she worked in community development in south London and retains links and interest here.

Tim is the Group General Counsel and an Executive Director of Blockthree Holdings Limited (B3), a highly innovative FinTech company providing a suite of consultancy and platform services for the digitalisation of assets ranging from financial services products, digital currencies and property and developing blockchain solutions for logistics and supply chain challenges.

Prior to B3 he spent 20 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co where he became Global Head of Practice for the Equities Division of the Investment Bank. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1995. He was named UK In-House Financial Services Lawyer of the Year in 2014, European Financial Services Lawyer of the Year in 2018 and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for services to the UK Legal Profession in 2018.

He is supported for the Mayoralty by the Court of Aldermen for 2026-27.