About Entrust

Antony Townsend

Chair

Appointed in December 2022

• Antony Townsend has extensive experience as a Chief Executive and non-executive director in organisations regulating financial and professional services, and as a charitable trustee.
• He currently chairs the Pensions Regulator’s Determinations Panel, as well as being Chair of the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman Service. In addition, he undertakes work for the House of Commons, the NHS, and the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service.
• Antony has devoted much of his career to public service, and has worked extensively with Governments and other public and private stakeholders on issues of corporate governance and risk management, skills which he brings to the Entrust Board.

Kate Shaw

Chief Executive

Appointed in December 2023

• Kate joined Entrust in October 2022, initially as Chief Operating Officer and in December 2023 stepped up to be Chief Executive.
• In her early career, after qualifying as an Accountant, Kate worked for several organisations (Vodafone, Unipart, Waterstones amongst others), before moving to more operational roles when she found working with people, systems and processes more rewarding than just the numbers.
• As Director of Client Protection at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and more recently Chief Operating Officer at the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, Kate has a wide range of experience in delivering operation efficiency while maximising engagement with employees and stakeholders.
• Outside work, Kate is a keen football fan (UTV!) and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband (and grown-up children). 

Helen Venn

Non-Executive Director

• Helen Venn comes to Entrust with a robust legal foundation and over two decades of expertise in regulatory investigation and enforcement. In her recent seven-year tenure at the Gambling Commission, Helen held key positions as an Executive Director and Programme Director, leading the licensing, compliance, and enforcement functions. She also spearheaded significant operational cultural changes to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
• Previously, Helen held the positions of Head of Authorisation and Head of Supervision at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, where she managed teams handling high-profile, complex regulatory cases. Before this, she gained valuable experience as an Investigative Lawyer, prosecuting serious fraud cases and investigating potential miscarriages of justice.

Julian Atkins

Non-Executive Director

Human Resources and Remuneration Committee Chair

• Julian is an experienced Non-Executive Director having held Board posts in a number of sectors. He is currently deputy chair of The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and board chair of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce's subsidiary training company. He is also a past president of the London Institute of Banking and Finance for Coventry and Warwickshire.
• Julian's executive career was in financial services. He was part of the Executive leadership team and led the HR function at Coventry Building Society, where he worked for nearly 25 years. His early career was spent with the Thomas Cook Group and Marks and Spencer plc.
• Julian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the London Institute of Banking and Finance.
• Julian is passionate about developing high performing teams and delivering excellent customer service.

Peter Bayliss

Non-Executive Director

Audit Committee Chair

• Peter is an experienced non-executive director, having previously chaired a housing association’s finance and risk committee. He is also an experienced trustee, having chaired a mental health charity’s board for nearly a decade.
• Peter’s executive career was in HM Revenue & Customs. After a period investigating and prosecuting serious fraud in the Revenue’s Special Compliance Office he spent some time examining the tax affairs of the rich and famous in HMRC’s Complex Personal Returns team, before spending his final years as HM Inspector of Taxes as a national technical specialist countering marketed tax avoidance schemes.
• As an adjunct to his main employment, Peter was for several years an associate lecturer with the Open University, teaching mathematics and statistics. Drawing on his academic background in economics and financial management, he now undertakes the same role within the University of Worcester, teaching in its business school.
• As a result of his compliance background and as someone diagnosed later in life with high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome, Peter brings a usefully different perspective to the Board.