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.

Lord Mayor City of London 2018/19
Interim Group CFO Barclays
CFO Citigroup Corporate and Investment Bank
CFO Salomon Brothers Asia
Chartered Accountant and Partner Coopers Lybrand
Current Governor Bridewell Royal Hospital

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

Dr Abi Masterson is a Nurse and Director of a health-focused consultancy. She was formerly an independent Governor of the University of Brighton and has held clinical, education and research posts in organisations including St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the Royal College of Nursing and the University of Bristol.

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.