We are delighted to announce the appointment of businessman Jack Morris CBE as our new chair of trustees
Mr Morris, chair of the Business Design Centre Group which operates London’s renowned Business Design Centre in Islington, steps into the role following his own family’s experience of the devastating impact of brain tumours.
In January last year, he and his wife Susan lost their 31-year-old daughter Emily to a glioblastoma – the type of brain tumour which took the lives of former Cabinet Minister Tessa Jowell and US Senator John McCain.
After Emily’s initial diagnosis in February 2015, the family’s extensive research into treatment options and the support available led them to The Brain Tumour Charity.
Mr Morris, 62, became one of our trustees earlier this year and has now taken over from Sir Martin Narey as chair of the board.
Mr Morris said: “Emily’s brain tumour diagnosis was a devastating time in our lives and we were introduced to a world that was completely alien to us.
“Like many other parents in a similar situation, I spent a long time studying the subject that I needed to know about.
“I realised quickly that The Brain Tumour Charity is leading global efforts to defeat this devastating disease, which kills more children and adults under 40 in the UK than any other type of cancer.
“The Charity’s unprecedented investment in high-quality and innovative research, its support services for those affected by brain tumours and its work to raise awareness of the disease are bringing about real change and I welcome the opportunity to be able to help drive that forward as its new chair of trustees.”
Our CEO Sarah Lindsell said: “It is a real privilege to welcome Jack Morris as our chair of trustees.
“His leadership skills, business experience and deep personal commitment to our cause will be an enormous asset to The Brain Tumour Charity as we seek to accelerate progress towards our twin goals: to double brain tumour survival and halve the harm caused by the disease.
“We are united with Jack in our determination to spare others the heartbreak which he and his family have endured.”
The Business Design Centre Group has been a majority-owned family business since it was founded in 1954.
The Business Design Centre was developed in the mid-1980s from the shell of the Victorian Royal Agricultural Hall or ‘The Aggie’, as a major urban regeneration project.
The Group also funds the Morris Charitable Trust, which supports numerous community projects and charities. The Group has adopted The Brain Tumour Charity as one of its charity partners.
Mr Morris became chair of the Business Design Centre Group in 1992. He has held numerous public, voluntary and charitable appointments – being awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to further education and a CBE in 2016 for services to business and charity in London.