Paul Martinelli has been elected as the new chairman of London’s biggest independent charity funder.
Paul has previously served as deputy chairman of the City Bridge Foundation board, which is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the bridge owner and grantmaker.
He takes over from Giles Shilson, who has been chairman for the past three and a half years and who will continue as the foundation’s deputy chairman.
Paul has spent his career working in the food sector at Smithfield Market and holds a range of positions in the City of London, including serving as treasurer of the Smithfield Market Tenants Association and a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers.
Paul Martinelli, City Bridge Foundation chairman, said: “It’ been a privilege to serve as deputy chairman of the board and it’s a great honour to be elected chairman, to guide the work of the foundation as it looks to the future.
“This is a pivotal moment for our 900-year-old charity, as we develop our new funding policy, which will enable us to address our funding where it can have the greatest impact, while delivering our primary aim of looking after five of London’s bridges.
“I’d like to pay tribute to Giles Shilson, whose clear and decisive leadership helped the foundation navigate turbulent times in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and to modernise and equip itself for the challenges London faces now and in the future.”
Meanwhile, Nighat Quereshi is the new chair of the foundation’s funding committee, which has delegated authority for the charity’s funding policy, grant-making and social investment work.
The board, funding committee and investment committee are made up of elected members of the City of London Corporation, the foundation’s sole trustee, who serve alongside co-opted members with expertise in bridge management, funding or investment.
