After graduating, Rob spent many years working in investment banking in London, Tokyo and New York, as well as spending time on high altitude arctic expeditions to the North and Magnetic poles.
Rob then had what he describes as a ‘Damascene moment’, thanks to his son Max. “I didn’t want Max growing up thinking it’s all about the money, so I did an MBA at Henley, where a wonderful Professor called Terry Garrison said I would make a great charity CEO. That was my lightbulb moment.”
In 2007, Rob was appointed to his current role, and over the last 12 years, under Rob’s leadership, the charity has become the biggest player in tackling knife crime and county lines exploitation and has helped to reform well over 25,000 clients a year.
Rob says: “We believe everyone has the power to turn their lives around, no matter what their situation. We use expertise and past experiences to empower people who are not getting the help they need - people who are hard to engage because they have been failed time and time again – held back by poverty, abuse, dealing with addiction or mental health problems, or caught up in crime and gangs.”
The Trust uses an innovative model where all of the frontline staff are female prisoners, who are then trained for six months for them to achieve a Level 3 in Advice and Guidance.
Clearly the model is working, as the Trust has won multiple awards and has been one of only five companies in the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list for the last 10 years. It’s also been evidenced that for every £1 invested in the Trust the tax payer is saved £10.
As a result of his work with the St Giles Trust, Rob has managed to secure the Duke of Cambridge as a patron of the charity, attended a private lunch with the Queen, and in 2015 was awarded an OBE.